Quote:
Originally Posted by YOWetal
Menard is so anti development and wouldn't be happy unless it was a park and public housing but here he makes a lot of good points. The Air Rights is a big risk if we see continued decreases in immigration and end up with a surplus of housing allowing them to walk away means we really can't book that $65 Million in any real sense. It's a pretty good speculative play on their part as the reverse could also be true with it worth a lot more than what they are paying.
|
To Menard's credit, he's tabled a few good motions to improve 2.0. I don't remember Doucet doing that with 1.0, using up all his energy to oppose instead. Chernushenko after him was decent though.
Here are the motions in simpler langue (if it passed).
- Better financial oversight by the City (unsure yet);
- Increase share for affordable housing from the air rights, from $9.75 million to $22.75 million (Passed);
- Staff provide update by Q1 2026 on actions being pursued to improve pedestrian experience on Aberdeen Square (unsure yet);
- Give us a guarantee that the RedBlacks and 67s will stick around until the end of the agreement in 2075 (amended to 2042 and Passed);
- Direct staff to collaborate with the Moving Surfaces artist to restore and reinstate the art piece (unsure yet);
- Additional bus shelter on Bank near Exhibition Way by 2026 (unsure yet);
- Shuttle service be provided for all events, improve transit on Bank for events and offer promotional rates for the 6 and 7 routes during events. (unsure yet)
Leiper also had a solid motion.
- Increase MAT contribution from $2 million to 40%, thus increasing the amount over time as the MAT brings in more through increased tourism and inflation (unsure yet).
Quote:
Originally Posted by phil235
The air rights are a risk, sure, but are they really a big risk? They are a relatively modest piece of the puzzle. Sure, Mirabella could pay the deposits and walk away (still unclear if there would be an additional penalty for doing that), but is that really likely? They are a sophisticated developer - there is no doubt that their bid took into account changing market conditions. I think the risk of a delay in construction is bigger than the risk that they pay $6 million and decide to walk away with nothing. If they don't build, it's much more likely that they try to sell the air rights to another developer and recoup some of their investment (which would go well beyond the deposit paid to the City).
Even if they walk away, it's not like the City is out $65 million. They will just award the rights to another developer. Yes, the price would be lower, but the $65 million was much higher than anticipated in the first place. So the real risk is that we end up somewhere in the ballpark of the original projections for revenue from air rights. Not exactly devastating.
This seems way overblown to me - just a typical risk on a major project. Probably less costly and disruptive than the risk of a major subcontractor going belly up. That I would be more worried about, as it would definitely cause major delays.
|
It's just one risk amongst many, a "waterfall" of risks, you might say.
Quote:
Originally Posted by phil235
No, the Grey Cup is being held in similar stadiums like Hamilton and Toronto, so no reason to think Ottawa couldn't host.
|
Those stadiums have the potential to expand though, right? With all this, we still haven't heard anything about potential temporary seating for major events.
Threaded Mode