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View Poll Results: What you think?
Love it 15 28.85%
Like it 34 65.38%
Ugly 3 5.77%
Voters: 52. You may not vote on this poll

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  #1  
Old Posted Nov 10, 2014, 8:01 PM
Spring2008 Spring2008 is offline
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WAM on Tenth

Not sure if pouring has started, but BP issued last month and have been crews working on site prep for a few weeks.

Use this one - with poll. Mods please delete other thread.

WAM Developments by Render Central, on Flickr[/QUOTE]
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  #2  
Old Posted Nov 11, 2014, 12:42 AM
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I think the only thing I dislike about it is that the smaller tower is, well, too small. They could have added ten floors at least and still had a good leveling effect going on. [/TallBob]

How many units? WAM + Mark is a nice boost to the Beltline on their own, nevermind to the same block.
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  #3  
Old Posted Nov 11, 2014, 1:35 AM
Spring2008 Spring2008 is offline
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440 units + 275 units at Mark. EV earning a lot of praise but these two plus Smith, which gets going end of Nov, takes Beltline to nearly 25 tower starts since fall 2011.

I think the smaller tower in between is good for preserving views and they likely maxed out the number of units anyways with the amount of parking already built below grade and the FAR of the site.
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  #4  
Old Posted Nov 11, 2014, 5:58 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Spring2008 View Post
440 units + 275 units at Mark. EV earning a lot of praise but these two plus Smith, which gets going end of Nov, takes Beltline to nearly 25 tower starts since fall 2011.

I think the smaller tower in between is good for preserving views and they likely maxed out the number of units anyways with the amount of parking already built below grade and the FAR of the site.
Holy smokes. 715 units on half a block? Within 1 more block of here you also have the 2 Auras, I suspect you are over 1,000 new units within 1 block, all moving within a year or two of each other.

Also the Metropolitan (430 units, 3 blocks away), 6th and 10th (~150 units; 2 blocks away) and the Mount Royal Village project (~100+ units, 6 blocks away). Not to mention a few longer term projects not too distant (West End Towers ~600 units; Marriott on 10th etc.) and ones we probably haven't heard of yet.

Throw in the 8th Street revitalization project aimed for next year and you'll have one of the most bustling urban streets in the country in about 3 years.
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  #5  
Old Posted Nov 11, 2014, 6:09 PM
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Downtown West is quite a bit more dense and yet is what I would call the opposite of bustling.

The big problem I see is getting noteworthy small businesses, restaurants, and street retail to fill out the retail levels of these buildings. Mission and Kensington have it somewhat figured out but Beltline is struggling a bit.
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  #6  
Old Posted Nov 11, 2014, 8:16 PM
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Originally Posted by geotag277 View Post
Downtown West is quite a bit more dense and yet is what I would call the opposite of bustling.

The big problem I see is getting noteworthy small businesses, restaurants, and street retail to fill out the retail levels of these buildings. Mission and Kensington have it somewhat figured out but Beltline is struggling a bit.
It is hard to compare the Downtown West End with this on density alone. Downtown West End is completely isolated from popular retail districts and offers none of the pedestrian features that make these successful and attractive. It is victim of being cut off by Millenium Park / 14th Street to the West, the River to the north, CPR to the south, 8th Street & the NW LRT to the east. It is also bisected by high-speed arterials (5th, 6th & 9th). All of these are the dominate flow and add significant pedestrian barriers to efficient travel around or outside of the West End by foot. Retail struggles when surrounded by such barriers.

8th Street south of the CPR tracks is quite different. It is not isolated, but fully surrounded and supported by other corridors and nodes of activity as well as being a pedestrian corridor itself. Thousands pass through everyday, 8th street being the highest trafficked underpass by foot under the CPR. The redevelopment of the street will further emphasize this and make it even more attractive. There is already several restaurants and pubs along 8th in that immediate area, not to mention the developing night-club / music venue corridor along 10th Ave. ATCO is likely one of the largest day-time employers in the Beltline for the daytime traffic, while plenty of cafes and the Safeway act as key focal points.

Density on it's own isn't enough to make a bustling street (West End). But density plus an attractive public realm and no major barrier limiting pedestrian traffic and retail has a much better shot.
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  #7  
Old Posted Nov 11, 2014, 9:49 PM
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Ya, it will be nice when they fix up 8th. A few weeks ago they were repairing the railings, and re-painting them. Not sure why they put the effort in if they are going to re-do it all? I thought the project was pretty close to getting underway.
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  #8  
Old Posted Nov 11, 2014, 11:48 PM
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Every little bit helps.

What I like about Mark and WAM is that not only do they inject a few hundred consumers/pedestrians/employees into site that is accessible from all 4 directions, but they redevelop a particularly weak link in the street wall, making passage by foot a more attractive choice to thousands of other residents.

I predict when Calgary has finished turning this corner (land values up another 50% around inner city, half as much surface parking, double current pedestrian mode share, Beltline becomes a net exporter of retail), the sites around Crack Macs/Boudoir Rouge/Roadhouse will be the first sites in town to redevelop as a new wave of truly metropolitan (Trump, Aura, Shangri-La -esque) very tall residential towers.
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  #9  
Old Posted Nov 12, 2014, 12:01 AM
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I had to put I love it because of the good design and the plot of land this is going to swallow!
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  #10  
Old Posted Nov 12, 2014, 12:04 AM
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HaHa I just noticed that 10th Ave is 12 lanes wide in this rendering!! This must be to trick those who are obsessed with driving to buy at WAM.
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  #11  
Old Posted Nov 12, 2014, 12:39 AM
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HaHa I just noticed that 10th Ave is 12 lanes wide in this rendering!! This must be to trick those who are obsessed with driving to buy at WAM.
That's what I thought too, but it looks like that's the parking lot across the street. Also note the crosswalk at the alleyway. How great would it be if the trees were really like that. I wonder if this is the accurate sidewalk width they are proposing.
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  #12  
Old Posted Nov 12, 2014, 1:06 AM
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I think new residents at the u/c Royal View tower plus some at the new Lower Mount Royal projects will predominately be using 8th st as well. Really hope the upgrades to both 10th av and 8th st aren't far off, both have potential to become main streets.

Quote:
Originally Posted by MasterG View Post
Holy smokes. 715 units on half a block? Within 1 more block of here you also have the 2 Auras, I suspect you are over 1,000 new units within 1 block, all moving within a year or two of each other.

Also the Metropolitan (430 units, 3 blocks away), 6th and 10th (~150 units; 2 blocks away) and the Mount Royal Village project (~100+ units, 6 blocks away). Not to mention a few longer term projects not too distant (West End Towers ~600 units; Marriott on 10th etc.) and ones we probably haven't heard of yet.

Throw in the 8th Street revitalization project aimed for next year and you'll have one of the most bustling urban streets in the country in about 3 years.
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  #13  
Old Posted Nov 12, 2014, 1:09 AM
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Downtown West End needs more new mixed-use development. Hopefully the new art gallery going in at the former science centre plus projects like West Village towers and even some of the new west Beltline towers add more activity to the area.

Quote:
Originally Posted by geotag277 View Post
Downtown West is quite a bit more dense and yet is what I would call the opposite of bustling.

The big problem I see is getting noteworthy small businesses, restaurants, and street retail to fill out the retail levels of these buildings. Mission and Kensington have it somewhat figured out but Beltline is struggling a bit.
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  #14  
Old Posted Nov 12, 2014, 6:34 AM
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Don't really care for the design and I wish it was a single, taller tower, but I'm thrilled about this site getting filled in and this project proceeding.
With all this considered I voted "Like it".
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  #15  
Old Posted Nov 12, 2014, 7:15 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Spring2008 View Post
Downtown West End needs more new mixed-use development. Hopefully the new art gallery going in at the former science centre plus projects like West Village towers and even some of the new west Beltline towers add more activity to the area.
What are the chances of some of those old ugly rental buildings in the west end being torn down to make way for new mixed use developments. The current west end should be used as an example of how not to design a downtown neighbourhood.
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  #16  
Old Posted Nov 12, 2014, 7:47 AM
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I voted "Like it" also. I'm starting to see a trend here.... A Sea of 20-30 story Residential buildings of basically "OK" design.... With the exception of "Guardian"! These areas are starting to get "Mature" enough for some taller (45-55 story) proposals.
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  #17  
Old Posted Nov 12, 2014, 7:01 PM
Spring2008 Spring2008 is offline
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Yes please!
Quote:
Originally Posted by RyLucky View Post
Every little bit helps.

What I like about Mark and WAM is that not only do they inject a few hundred consumers/pedestrians/employees into site that is accessible from all 4 directions, but they redevelop a particularly weak link in the street wall, making passage by foot a more attractive choice to thousands of other residents.

I predict when Calgary has finished turning this corner (land values up another 50% around inner city, half as much surface parking, double current pedestrian mode share, Beltline becomes a net exporter of retail), the sites around Crack Macs/Boudoir Rouge/Roadhouse will be the first sites in town to redevelop as a new wave of truly metropolitan (Trump, Aura, Shangri-La -esque) very tall residential towers.
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  #18  
Old Posted Nov 12, 2014, 7:02 PM
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Which ones? If low-rise, much higher probability of redevelopment, if high-rise not likely, maybe a few major reno's though.


Quote:
Originally Posted by *Stardust* View Post
What are the chances of some of those old ugly rental buildings in the west end being torn down to make way for new mixed use developments. The current west end should be used as an example of how not to design a downtown neighbourhood.
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  #19  
Old Posted Nov 12, 2014, 7:09 PM
geotag277 geotag277 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RyLucky View Post
Every little bit helps.

What I like about Mark and WAM is that not only do they inject a few hundred consumers/pedestrians/employees into site that is accessible from all 4 directions, but they redevelop a particularly weak link in the street wall, making passage by foot a more attractive choice to thousands of other residents.

I predict when Calgary has finished turning this corner (land values up another 50% around inner city, half as much surface parking, double current pedestrian mode share, Beltline becomes a net exporter of retail), the sites around Crack Macs/Boudoir Rouge/Roadhouse will be the first sites in town to redevelop as a new wave of truly metropolitan (Trump, Aura, Shangri-La -esque) very tall residential towers.
Crack Macs is in an absurdly central part of town really. Walk four blocks any direction and you are in an awesome neighbourhood. Would be a great location for a supertall no doubt.
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  #20  
Old Posted Nov 12, 2014, 7:13 PM
geotag277 geotag277 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Spring2008 View Post
Downtown West End needs more new mixed-use development. Hopefully the new art gallery going in at the former science centre plus projects like West Village towers and even some of the new west Beltline towers add more activity to the area.
I'm not sure how mixed use would help really. The way I see it there are no urban draws into Downtown West because there are no interesting businesses operating there.

The businesses will ultimately define the community, it doesn't matter how many mixed use, residential or office buildings you have, if the retail level tenants are compelling to draw foot traffic, the community will not be bustling.

If the businesses operating on Kensington street relocated 5 blocks south to 8th avenue we wouldn't be talking about how Downtown West is "how not to design an urban neighbourhood".
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