Edmonton Construction 11 (November 2011)

[Black Star]

Yeah Im all for new shiny things....But Commonwealth building some dressing rooms for 20 mill?? That's roughly 1/4 of a 30 story condo! What did we drop on the new Rec center and adjoining facilities 110 Million! They gotta Figure it out cheaper than this.

[Coldrsx]

So long as this expenditure can be used post Cup and or repurposed into other needed space I am ok with it.

[240glt]

Originally Posted by Xelebes

I'm having a hard time justifying it in my head. How old are each of the components?

I think the jumbotron and audio systems are the most crucial upgrades. Probably a couple mil for those. Repaving the parking lots, there's another half mil.

I am not sure what facilities within the rec centre they want to re-use.... but $10 mil sounds like a reasonable cost to me, for everything in.

[kcantor]

i'm probably with the mayor on this one - at least insofar as what's been made public and taking it at face value.

we want to host some of a soccer tournament and don't even know which teams we will host or when in the tournament in terms of assessing that all too ephemeral "world exposure".

and our top line stadium and recent 110 million in renovations and upgrades needs another 20 plus million in order to be "suitable" in hosting three women's soccer games. maybe it's just me but isn't this the same stadium that just recently hosted a pretty successful grey cup game with all of the attendant hoopla and media coverage etc.?

oops... wait a minute. we can't have 20 plus million? wait a minute. don't go away. we can do it for a little under 11 million.

this to me seems like a shopping list of "we'd like" items that we don't have money for and that don't have enough priority to be funded in competition with everything else the city is asked to pay for. so we'll tack them on to the soccer tournament budget. a new jumbo tron? repaving some parking lots? fifa wants new asphalt? really???

if any of these things have "value after the tournament", then they should compete for the same money that everything else that will have value after the tournament on the same basis. oh. maybe they have. and maybe that's why they're still unfunded?

or am i just being too cranky today?

[Jasper and one o nin]

Originally Posted by 240glt

From the article:

The city has now reduced the price to $10.7 million.

That would create four dressing rooms, player medical rooms, referee areas and doping control rooms, replace the Jumbotron and centre-field speakers, and repave two parking lots.

The player and official facilities are required by FIFA, the international soccer governing body, for the 2015 women's championships and possibly the Under-20 Women's World Cup in 2014.

Following the soccer event, they would be converted to a change room for visiting CFL teams and other space, a report says.

The Jumbotron and the speakers are both about a dozen years old and becoming outdated, so they will need to be replaced around the time of the soccer tournaments anyway, it says.

But Mandel questioned Monday why the stadium upgrades need to be so expensive.

"It doesn't make me any happier. I have a problem with it ... We have tremendous facilities at Commonwealth (recreation centre) that we just built. I'm not sure why we can't use them," he said.


This has little to do with the new fieldhouse and rec centre. As noted in the article, there are a variety of upgrades that are needed. Mandel is out to lunch on this one... why's he being a cheapskate all of a sudden ?

The project for the entire rec centre included new dressing rooms (a massive overhaul to the eskimo dressing room) as well as administration offices for the eskimos, and other significant upgrades exclusive for users of the stadium. Why would there be a need for additional dressing rooms, only two teams play at any one time?

[EdmTrekker]

Originally Posted by Jasper and one o nin

The project for the entire rec centre included new dressing rooms (a massive overhaul to the eskimo dressing room) as well as administration offices for the eskimos, and other significant upgrades exclusive for users of the stadium. Why would there be a need for additional dressing rooms, only two teams play at any one time?

Why are we paying anything for the Eskimos administration space? Do we pay Katz for Oilers administration space?

[Coldrsx]

[240glt]

Originally Posted by EdmTrekker

Why are we paying anything for the Eskimos administration space? Do we pay Katz for Oilers administration space?

Oilers already get a huge subsidy from the city. Lets not go down that road.

[240glt]

Originally Posted by Jasper and one o nin

The project for the entire rec centre included new dressing rooms (a massive overhaul to the eskimo dressing room) as well as administration offices for the eskimos, and other significant upgrades exclusive for users of the stadium. Why would there be a need for additional dressing rooms, only two teams play at any one time?

I don't know about the dressing rooms... I only use the rec center part. But I'll agree that the dressing rooms sound a little excessive. But still, there's a tonne of activities in the new rec centre.. I am sure those rooms could be repurposed.

I don't thin anyone can argue that the the sound system and scoreboard/ jumbotron should be kept up to date though. And the grounds around the stadium (Yes Ken, including the parking lots) could use an aesthetic improvement. That benefits the whole city too, no ?

[s4.audios]

The mayor has set his priorities for the city and I agree with them. I just don't see the the importance for these costs; for three matches like cdnklc said. I'm all for this soccer tournament and I will attend at least one. But they can play in the stadium current state.

[240glt]

^ I agree if we were just throwing $10mil at three games of soccer, that would be ridiculous. But hopefully these upgrades (which will happen, I think regardless of what the mayor thinks) will be of benefit to the facility and city as a whole, long after the soccer games are all wrapped up.

It pays future dividends to keep our facilities in tip top shape and up to date technologically. Especially ones like Commonwealth.

[CMD UW]

Originally Posted by s4.audios

The mayor has set his priorities for the city and I agree with them. I just don't see the the importance for these costs; for three matches like cdnklc said. I'm all for this soccer tournament and I will attend at least one. But they can play in the stadium current state.

I agree with this as well.

[Kevin_foster]

But guys, new jumbo tron. NEW JUMBO TRON.

[bkd]

Bellyaching over spending 20M to further renovate CW is hilarious. There are major parts of the stadium that are outdated and in need of upgrade or replacement. We're using a A/V system out of the 90's... if the mayor can't comprehend or understand this, then he is simply stupid. And still bellyaching over the new 10M figure?

This fucking city is something else.

[Shodan]

Residents lose battle on housing
Court nixes inner-city opposition to units for homeless aboriginals

Gordon Kent
Edmonton Journal

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

The long legal battle against an apartment building intended to house people with chronic addictions ended Tuesday when the Alberta Court of Appeal refused to hear the community's latest challenge.

"It's great news," said Niginan Housing Ventures president Faye Dewar, whose non-profit society started construction of Ambrose Place in 2010...

[email protected]
© Edmonton Journal 2012

Copyright © 2012 CanWest Interactive, a division of CanWest MediaWorks Publications, Inc.. All rights reserved.
CanWest Interactive, a division of CanWest MediaWorks Publications, Inc.. All rights reserved.

http://www2.canada.com/components/print.aspx?id=5da61ee7-995c-4d0f-b0e5-46e6beb9aabe&sponsor=

[Shodan]

Slim homes, denser neighbourhoods
City hopes slender housing will help fill hollowed-out districts

David Staples
Edmonton Journal

Wednesday, October 31, 2012


CREDIT: Grant Black, Postmedia News Files
The construction of tall, narrow infill homes is a key part of Edmonton's densification strategy.

Most of us support the concept of densification. We like its goal of bringing more people into aging, hollowed-out older neighbourhoods. We're just not so keen if an apartment or a duplex is going to be built next door to our own house.

The moment that "densification" means our neighbour is allowed to put a big addition on the front of his house, or tear down the house, subdivide the land into two smaller lots and build two tall, slender homes, we might even start getting overwhelmed by anxiety and upset...

dstaples@edmontonjournal. com
© Edmonton Journal 2012

Copyright © 2012 CanWest Interactive, a division of CanWest MediaWorks Publications, Inc.. All rights reserved.
CanWest Interactive, a division of CanWest MediaWorks Publications, Inc.. All rights reserved.

http://www2.canada.com/components/print.aspx?id=cf09b8fc-6aa0-41b5-9f64-79dfa72e6b8e&sponsor=

[Shodan]

Cactus Club to open on Jasper Avenue

Edmonton Journal

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Cactus Club Cafe is opening a central Edmonton location.

The Vancouver-based upscale restaurant chain will begin construction of its second Edmonton location at 11130 Jasper Avenue in the Devonian Building in November, said Canterra Developments Corp., the building owner, and Colliers International, the firm that brokered the deal.

"The basis of a deal was struck in March 2011 and although some challenges became apparent both logistically and municipally, both parties remained fully committed to completing a deal in this signature location," said a release from Canterra and Colliers.
© Edmonton Journal 2012

Copyright © 2012 CanWest Interactive, a division of CanWest MediaWorks Publications, Inc.. All rights reserved.
CanWest Interactive, a division of CanWest MediaWorks Publications, Inc.. All rights reserved.

http://www2.canada.com/components/print.aspx?id=e767f5df-5e97-495c-90eb-af3f789adb25&sponsor=

[Hallsy's Toupee]

^ Already posted in the Food thread

[kcantor]

Originally Posted by cdnklc

i'm probably with the mayor on this one - at least insofar as what's been made public and taking it at face value.

we want to host some of a soccer tournament and don't even know which teams we will host or when in the tournament in terms of assessing that all too ephemeral "world exposure".

and our top line stadium and recent 110 million in renovations and upgrades needs another 20 plus million in order to be "suitable" in hosting three women's soccer games. maybe it's just me but isn't this the same stadium that just recently hosted a pretty successful grey cup game with all of the attendant hoopla and media coverage etc.?

oops... wait a minute. we can't have 20 plus million? wait a minute. don't go away. we can do it for a little under 11 million.

this to me seems like a shopping list of "we'd like" items that we don't have money for and that don't have enough priority to be funded in competition with everything else the city is asked to pay for. so we'll tack them on to the soccer tournament budget. a new jumbo tron? repaving some parking lots? fifa wants new asphalt? really???

if any of these things have "value after the tournament", then they should compete for the same money that everything else that will have value after the tournament on the same basis. oh. maybe they have. and maybe that's why they're still unfunded?

or am i just being too cranky today?

oops... wait another minute. we can't have almost 11 million dollars? maybe we can do it for 1.7 million. if there's a black eye here, it's not the mayor's...

[240glt]

^ you obviously have no idea how requests for funding in public institutions works... Not to say it's a good system, but that's how it is

The mayor is being obtuse for some reason. Why ? Who knows... maybe you can ask him...