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Old Posted Jan 1, 2014, 10:18 AM
ue ue is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WhipperSnapper View Post
Edmonton has been cranking out proposals since I started as editor with very little to show for it. There may be an opportunity for a new tallest (well under 200 metres) there but, I don't see the closure of the airport having that much of an impact on heights over the 140 metre range. The office and high rise condo inventory are tiny compared to Toronto and small to Calgary.

The only change I can see is the list dropping in height allowing more cities to be on it should things continue to be slow in Toronto.


Niagara Falls doesn't have the numbers to support another big hotel boom and the proposals are by a few small time local looking for investors to buy and/or finance everything. I don't share your optimism.
I agree with you that having an Edmonton proposal over 200m is unlikely for the time being. But with the closing of YXD, I don't think it's out of the cards for the mid to far term.

We already have 2 proposals over the old 150m tower limit (102 St Centre and the Edmontonian). The airport was only decided to be closed in 2009, a time when the economy was so-so, and it has slowly been closing down since, with the last plane leaving this past November. We've already seen the effects of this over Oliver, directly west of the core (think West End Vancouver or Beltline Calgary for those unfamiliar).

The Pearl condos, currently topped out, far exceed anything built the comparatively stubby skyline of Oliver. It's Edmonton's tallest residential building now and wouldn't have been built in that site at that height without the closure of YXD. There are already proposals starting to flood in for more tall condos in Oliver. Nothing over 150m, but baby steps. Oliver consists mostly of 70m-100m tall apartments and condos, so already a 120m condo sticks out considerably.

Edmonton is in a different place than it was 10 years ago, or even 5 years ago when the previous boom was in full swing. The city was unprepared for a new wave of demand for downtown construction the previous boom, but now it is taking full advantage and the core is in the biggest high-rise boom it has seen since the '80s.

Near-term, I suspect more 150-180m tall buildings in the former tallest airport overlays and more 110-140m tall buildings in the shorter overlays are in store for Edmonton.
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