Katz Group Reaches Out
Crashed the Nextgen meet-up with the Arena District, last night. A nod to the Arena District for reaching out to the group that will ultimately inherit downtown revitalization.
Only nuance to report, as to the status of the negotiations with the city administration. The concept of a revitalization levy remains the chief funding mechanism. Discussions are on going. The levy has been widely discussed and dismissed by some in Edmonton. Community integration and public access for those directly impacted by the development is being discussed. No formal plans or polices on how to deal with those issues,yet.
The Oilers continue to maintain non-hockey revenue is required to sustain the franchise going forward. Translated, Edmonton's concert, show, and convention business, previously a Northlands purview, would morph to Katz Sports and Entertainment. That suggests the NHL business model is broken. Teams are unable to support themselves on hockey related revenue. So much for the much ballyhooed Salary Cap cost control system.
There is a revision, on street level activity proposed for the Winter Garden. Responding to critiques the Katz group is using Hudson Place in New York as a model. The application for Edmonton is a multi level street experience.
The local concept moves the Winter Garden footprint back 3 feet to create some sidewalk room for outdoor cafes and kiosk retail, with a specific winter city design, heat lamps, in order to get as much use as possible. Heat lamps would come in handy today!
Sustainability, business and environmental remain contentious issues. The latter has not had sufficient discussion. That's a miss, in a city that is leading the way on urban waste management. The Arena District needs to move beyond LEED Certification.That's a baseline.
Instead of talking about the best and brightest, Edmonton's Nextgen, enlist them! Create new made in Edmonton standards and implement technologies for zero waste engineering practices, zero waste building operations, district heat and power plants. There's an opportunity here to showcase and build on Edmonton's environmental expertise. Create legacy business opportunities and sustainable jobs. Lord knows we need it, given the mess, in the Oil Sands.
