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Urban Development and Proposals Discussion

Some scenes from Contemporary Calgary tonight:
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North elevation:
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It would be great if the contemporary art museum can attract blockbuster art exhibitions. I've often wondered if Calgary would be able to support such exhibitions. I suspect that they require access to a large pool of regional tourists who could be attracted to come in for day or weekend trips. I'm not sure there's enough people living close enough to Calgary (particularly those who are interested in art).
 
Silence&Motion said:
It would be great if the contemporary art museum can attract blockbuster art exhibitions. I've often wondered if Calgary would be able to support such exhibitions. I suspect that they require access to a large pool of regional tourists who could be attracted to come in for day or weekend trips. I'm not sure there's enough people living close enough to Calgary (particularly those who are interested in art).
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Looks like that is the long term goal :)

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Silence&Motion said:
Re: New Horizon Mall. Keep in mind that Pacific Mall in Markham (the model that this mall is based on) took years to fill up but eventually became incredibly busy and sparked something of a development boom in a relatively obscure corner of suburban Toronto.
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The building is nice, and it is near a busy and growing area. I have a feeling that's what'll happen.
 
Silence&Motion said:
Re: New Horizon Mall. Keep in mind that Pacific Mall in Markham (the model that this mall is based on) took years to fill up but eventually became incredibly busy and sparked something of a development boom in a relatively obscure corner of suburban Toronto.
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Time will tell. Three questions as I look at the business plan:
  • Why condo the interior units if it clearly creates conflicts of interest between the developer and the unit owners that slow down getting good anchor tenants?
  • Markham alone has 150,000 people of Chinese ethnicity, and another 350,000 in Toronto proper. The whole of Calgary has 75,000. Are there really enough customers for Chinese Walmart?
  • why not do it in East Calgary on the purple BRT route? Total cost of the project there isn’t that much more expensive than Balzac and it makes you much more accessible to the target market.
 
darwink said:
I think given how fundraising has gone so far, over the longer term they can probably raise 30-40% of the larger program, since they will be able to name the entire new north pavilion(s) after a donor, plus all the rooms inside.
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I look forward to touring the Darwink Centre for Contemporary Art in due time...
 
How do unit tenants slow down getting good anchor tenants? The developer held on to anchor stores in order for anchor tenants to be brought in did they not?
 
zagox said:
Time will tell. Three questions as I look at the business plan:
  • Why condo the interior units if it clearly creates conflicts of interest between the developer and the unit owners that slow down getting good anchor tenants?
  • Markham alone has 150,000 people of Chinese ethnicity, and another 350,000 in Toronto proper. The whole of Calgary has 75,000. Are there really enough customers for Chinese Walmart?
  • why not do it in East Calgary on the purple BRT route? Total cost of the project there isn’t that much more expensive than Balzac and it makes you much more accessible to the target market.
Click to expand...
  1. That’s just the business model. Seems common in Asian malls that retail units are owned rather than leased.
  2. Metro Calgary has more like 90,000 Chinese people, which is probably well above where Markham was in the 1990s when Pacific Mall opened. Plus if you look at East and Southeast Asians total, Calgary has more than Markham (though clearly not the GTA). But there are at least two more Chinese malls right next to Pacific Mall and dozens upon dozens of Chinese plazas scattered across Markham, so even if New Horizon filled up, Calgary would still only have a fraction of the Chinese retail that Markham has.
3.The old saying about Pacific Mall was that a family of 4 will take 5 cars to go there. I doubt the target customers for this mall will be taking transit. Also, I’m sure there’s also some regulatory reasons why all these mega malls are being located outside Calgary. New Horizon is not the only one.

BTW: I’m not defending the development. Personally, I would have loved to see something more urban built along the blue line. But I’m also not convinced it’s quite the train wreck that it seems to be at the moment.
 
I think the City may have bought the Enmax site on the top of the hill above Mission Road (the old substation). I emailed Enmax on Tuesday, but have had no response. Does anyone know who would I contact at the City for this and to understand what their plans are for it?

Edit 311 put my request through to the land sales group
 
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Not sure where to post this;

The Kensington Legion project as we know it is dead. Truman is looking to exit the Legion deal, and they are working with CBRE to sell the site. They are looking to raise capital for their other (ie: lower risk) projects.
 
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