Edmonton Construction 13 (November 2015)

[Coldrsx]

Crane coming down at WSP Tower.

[Airboy]

Originally Posted by Coldrsx

Crane coming down at WSP Tower.

I was going to mention that. I saw it when I went for my walk at lunch. A crew was also removing some of the scaffolding.

[Coldrsx]

Fox II



Augusta ready to roll



Symphony Tower progress

[240glt]

Sounds like assessments are going to be down across the city 2-3% for residential, around 5% for commercial and a pretty whopping 10% for rental apartment buildings this year

[kcantor]

Originally Posted by 240glt

Sounds like assessments are going to be down across the city 2-3% for residential, around 5% for commercial and a pretty whopping 10% for rental apartment buildings this year

mill rate then assessment then mill rate then assessment then millrate...

it's just a merry-go-round mug's game with the end result that taxes will still continue to go up with some minor variances from the norm that always seem to be made up up in the subsequent year anyway.

and with the roughly 60/40 commercial/residential split in overall tax requirements, it will be interesting to see whether the math results in higher residential tax bills with a change in the split resulting from larger drops in commercial assessments or whether the split is maintained and commercial/apartment buildings take a bigger hit even though assessed values fell.

[GreenSPACE]

http://www.decl.org/2017/01/03/augustana-lutheran-church-site-redevelopment/

[Coldrsx]

Indeed, great presentation.

[CMD UW]

Originally Posted by kcantor

mill rate then assessment then mill rate then assessment then millrate...

it's just a merry-go-round mug's game with the end result that taxes will still continue to go up with some minor variances from the norm that always seem to be made up up in the subsequent year anyway.

and with the roughly 60/40 commercial/residential split in overall tax requirements, it will be interesting to see whether the math results in higher residential tax bills with a change in the split resulting from larger drops in commercial assessments or whether the split is maintained and commercial/apartment buildings take a bigger hit even though assessed values fell.

Very true. A shell game at best.

[240glt]

Originally Posted by kcantor

mill rate then assessment then mill rate then assessment then millrate...

it's just a merry-go-round mug's game with the end result that taxes will still continue to go up with some minor variances from the norm that always seem to be made up up in the subsequent year anyway.

and with the roughly 60/40 commercial/residential split in overall tax requirements, it will be interesting to see whether the math results in higher residential tax bills with a change in the split resulting from larger drops in commercial assessments or whether the split is maintained and commercial/apartment buildings take a bigger hit even though assessed values fell.

It does sound like all of a sudden the city is very concerned with residential tax rates, I have a feeling commercial and apartment building owners might feel it a bit more than the residential base this year. Next year could be rough for some commercial owners but at that time I don't think the city will have a choice but to review mill rates as I bet you'll see a lot more appeals than usual

But overall I have to say I am pretty impressed they managed to keep the hike at around 3%

[GreenSPACE]

^Election year.

[McBoo]

Re: Augustana ... don't they mean 99 avenue and 107 street?

[kcantor]

Originally Posted by GreenSPACE

^Election year.

every year, not just election year. and even with the election cycle having moved from 3 years to 4, there's no move to change things.

property taxes should be a fee for service or services rendered, not a capital tax.

why should shah/perez pay the same taxes as the widow across the lane or the old cecil get away with less than the matrix or the old cromdale less than a corner drug store?

those that improve their sites/neighborhoods pay more for the same level of service and those who run down their sites/neighborhoods pay less while utilizing and consuming more.

[240glt]

l'il excerpt from the current Rat Creek that once again raises the issues surrounding the city's powers vis-à-vis the MGA

The transformation of Alberta Avenue

http://ratcreek.org/the-transformation-of-alberta-avenue/


.....


Over the past 20 years, Alberta Avenue has transformed from a place to avoid into a destination for people from across the capital region. Along with well-attended events like Kaleido Family Arts Festival and MuttStock, we are home to dozens of thriving local businesses that keep our sidewalks busy year-round.

A persistent thorn in the side of rejuvenation has been derelict properties. Constrained by provincial legislation which dictates that as long as a property is structurally safe, there’s little the city can do.

Property owners may have a number of reasons to allow a building to remain derelict. Foremost is avoiding the higher property taxes resulting from improving a building. Those of us who hoped recent amendments to the Municipal Government Act (MGA) might provide avenues to more aggressively deal with these property owners were disappointed.

In 2002, Winnipeg passed the Vacant and Derelict Buildings Bylaw. Considered the most stringent bylaws related to vacant and/or derelict properties in North America, it enables stiff boarding fees for residential and commercial properties, with the most extreme enforcement provisions in the bylaw allowing the city to take possession of a derelict building with no compensation to the owner. Before the city takes title, they must provide the owner several opportunities to correct the property and appeal the decision. They must also have a redevelopment plan for the site. In many cases, this has involved passing the property over to a community or non-profit group for a nominal fee, turning an eyesore into a benefit. Between Jan. 1, 2010 and Nov. 30, 2016, the program dealt with 1774 vacant or derelict properties.

The problem in Alberta isn’t that municipalities don’t have the authority to confiscate properties. Rather, the problem is municipalities can’t impose fines and increase tax burdens on derelict property owners, no matter how negatively they impact surrounding properties and the community as a whole.

Albertans have been invited to have their say about further amendments to the MGA until Jan. 31, 2017.

Those of us who want to see the blight of derelict properties removed from our landscape might want to ask the provincial government to make the legislative changes our cities need to do so.

Send comments to Minister Danielle Larivee via [email protected].

[Coldrsx]

Originally Posted by McBoo

Re: Augustana ... don't they mean 99 avenue and 107 street?

Indeed, good catch, message sent.

[GreenSPACE]

Originally Posted by kcantor

every year, not just election year. and even with the election cycle having moved from 3 years to 4, there's no move to change things.

property taxes should be a fee for service or services rendered, not a capital tax.

why should shah/perez pay the same taxes as the widow across the lane or the old cecil get away with less than the matrix or the old cromdale less than a corner drug store?

those that improve their sites/neighborhoods pay more for the same level of service and those who run down their sites/neighborhoods pay less while utilizing and consuming more.

I was thinking specifically about the amount of increase. It most-definitely has something to do with an election year, regardless of how it's calculated.

[hilman]

Massive downtown (red-&-white) flag helps chase away winter blues
Huge image of Canadian flag appears on the north side of new Edmonton Tower
By Lydia Neufeld, CBC

Look up. Look waaaay up in downtown Edmonton today and you may catch a glimpse of a massive Canadian flag projected on a highrise.

"I had to actually pull over and get my iPhone out and take a picture," Cindy Ferrari said Wednesday. "This is very, very creative, and this is what makes this city amazing."

The image covers the top four storeys, from edge to edge, on the north side of the new Edmonton Tower, on the corner of 101st Street and 104th Avenue.

The moving image shows a Canadian flag, flapping in the wind.

The huge image is hard to miss, Ferrari said.

"The innovation, the technology, is amazing. It's breathtaking."

Edmonton Tower, owned by the Katz Group, opened in November in the downtown arena district.

It houses more than 65 per cent of the city's downtown workforce, about 2,300 employees, who occupy 17 of its 27 floors.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/d...af-katz-arena-district-1.3920974?cmp=rss

[Black Star]

Now that is fantastic.....

[Coldrsx]

The bigger question I have is whether or not the entire north facade is able to do that or not...

[Hardhatdan]

Originally Posted by Coldrsx

The bigger question I have is whether or not the entire north facade is able to do that or not...

I had a look from grade at the mullions and it looks to me like just the top 4 floors. There seems to be a distinction in the look of the mullion up there to include whatever kind of system this is.

[Hardhatdan]

Confirmed just top section.