Aug
15
No More “The Crack Alley, Crack Macs, or the Crack Cul-de-sac” I mean Cecil Hotel???
Filed Under Calgary News Articles, Real Estate General | Leave a Comment
The City of Calgary wants to buy the Cecil Hotel, best known as a downtown hot spot for drugs and crime, and possibly turn it into affordable housing units, municipal aldermen say.
City officials confirmed they are in the early stages of negotiations with the owner and that they require the site for municipal purposes.
Ald. Bob Hawkesworth said he can see the city doing something similar to what they did with the York Hotel in the early 1990s.
“We converted that into an affordable housing project and managed it very effectively for many years. That cleaned up a problem at that time. So, the city has familiarity with doing this and has a successful track record doing it,” Hawkesworth said.
The city’s interest in buying the Cecil Hotel, he said, falls in line with its plan to re-develop the East Village.
In 2005, city council unveiled a plan to fix up the East Village, another crime-ridden neighbourhood in the downtown area, located between City Hall and Fort Calgary. The redevelopment called for a new city police headquarters, a new city library, a downtown campus of the University of Calgary and about 3,000 apartment units.
‘Quite unsavoury’
Many councillors would like to see the Cecil Hotel knocked down, Ald. Gord Low said.
“You know, there’s a lot of activity — quite unsavoury — that goes on around there, and it’s just not appropriate given its proximity to the drop-in centre, the East Village and the Riverwalk,” he said.
The Calgary Drop-In & Rehab Centre, located near the hotel, offers emergency shelter and transitional housing to men and women. The centre made a bid to buy the hotel a few months ago, but it wasn’t accepted.
The Riverwalk will run along the south bank of the Bow River and the west bank of the Elbow River, and “is one of the significant infrastructure projects that are intended to ‘kick-start’ the redevelopment of the East Village precinct of the Rivers District,” the project’s website says.
Ald. Rick McIver said even though the city is only in the very early stages of negotiations to buy the seedy hotel, it’s a good start.
“I am happy about the potential for cleaning up what I think is a high crime Mecca right there,” he said.
Jul
22
Banff is throwing an outdoor concert to celebrate the end of a year and a half of construction on the Alberta resort town’s main street.
Canadian acts Theory of a Deadman, k-os, Joel Plaskett Emergency and Ron Sexsmith will headline an all-day concert on Aug. 21 on Banff Avenue, the town announced Tuesday.
Two blocks of Banff Avenue, the town’s main drag, had been blocked with barricades and road equipment since 2007, while the town undertook a $22-million project to replace underground infrastructure, widen sidewalks, improve lighting and add crosswalks and loading zones.
“We want to celebrate the refreshing of Canada’s town in a big way, so we’re bringing in four of Canada’s top bands from coast to coast, and hosting a free party for anyone who wants to come out and celebrate with us,” said Banff Mayor John Stutz.
He’s expecting 30,000 people to take in the concert and street party, dubbed Banff Live, which will run from 1 to 9 p.m. on Aug. 21.
Jul
17
The city of Calgary is hoping more recycling bins and a phone number for reporting full Trash bins will keep its downtown cleaner.
Calgary launched a pilot project Thursday to place stickers on about 100 garbage bins along 7th Avenue, from Third St. East to 10th street West, encouraging people to phone its 3-1-1 number when the container is full.
The city is also adding 40 pilot recycling bins in the area and changing street cleaner schedules so that more are working during the day.
Source: Calgary Herald
Jul
17
Calgary Home Prices Drop, but Market Still Strong
Filed Under Calgary News Articles, Home Prices | 2 Comments
A survey by a national real estate firm shows average house prices in Calgary in the second quarter of this year declined in three categories - detached bungalow, standard two-storey and standard condominium - compared with a year ago, while national averages all increased.
According to the House Price Survey and Market Survey Forecast report released today by Royal LePage Real Estate Services, the average price drops in the Calgary market were 4.7 per cent for a detached bungalow (to $438,122), 6.0 per cent for a standard two-storey home (to $437,744) and 5.0 per cent for a standard condominium (to $285,033).
The Edmonton market saw bigger price plunges by 14.5 per cent for a detached bungalow ($320,000), 12.4 per cent for a standard two-storey home ($348,571) and 14.2 per cent for a standard Condominium ($226,000).
The Chamberlain Group
