April 23, 2021
1 Sir Winston Churchill Square
Edmonton, Alberta
T5J 2R7
To Executive Committee of Council,
RE: Enterprise Land Development Program Update
IDEA is writing this letter today to urge Executive Committee to stand by its motion to sell Goodridge Corners, Schonsee, and Aster, and direct the proceeds to align with strategic building goals that are outlined in the City Plan. Council’s downtown construction incentive grant is successfully demonstrating how targeted action and investing in specific areas helps to stimulate development and bring long-term consistent returns.
Our recommendation is:
Sell Goodridge Corners, Schonsee, and Aster, as is, today. The market has been strong over the last year with low interest rates. We are missing the prime selling opportunity for this land.
Use revenue from the sale to assist Exhibition Lands and River Crossing, as they are identified as investment areas within the first two population horizons in The City Plan. These projects are moving into the implementation phase of redevelopment, and require significant capital investments.
Create a partnership with private infill developers to spur investment in River Crossing and Exhibition Lands. The City does not have a great track record in developing infill sites on its own.
At this time we do not support directing the funds raised from the land sale to Heritage Valley Town Centre as the area does not require market and political support for its development.
Allow for the industry to develop the land in Goodridge Corners, Schonsee, and Aster, as the industry does follows Municipal and Provincial regulations, standards and guidelines. We do not see any data that shows a large gap between private and public standards, and we have confidence that those in the private sector who purchase the land can service and develop it to standards set by the City and Province
We are very concerned with the City’s stance as articulated in Attachment 4. Many of the goals the City is looking to achieve regarding Healthy City, Urban Places, Climate Resilience, Regional Prosperity and Overall Alignment with The City Plan will be achieved through the infill redevelopment projects that would come out of the infrastructure investments made from the revenue of the land sales. This attachment implies that the only way development can align with City Plan is if the City itself is the developer. Both residential and commercial infill has proven to achieve many of City Plan goals and is reviewed and approved against City Plan by City Council at public hearing. Also, The City Plan informs multiple other critical decisions including zoning bylaw renewal, plans repeals, and infrastructure investments.
We would also like to note that IDEA is the leading organization for urban infill redevelopment. We have an in-depth understanding of the infrastructure and investment needs for redeveloping areas. However, we were not engaged on this project. Further, the “What We Heard” reports do not showcase which groups were consulted in alignment with GBA+ lens.
The Reserve Fund Study suggests that Option 2 could potentially generate more income for the city in the long term. However, there are near-term capital needs and strategic priorities for the City to consider. Moreover, time is subject to external forces that can derail plans, as we have seen in the past 18 months. Outcomes such as the tax uplift from infill, more efficient utilization of existing infrastructure, social and environmental benefits, and the time horizon on City Plan Goals being realized are not factored into the Option 2, 30 year (approx.) investment horizon.
The Enterprise Land Development Program is an opportunity that will help Edmonton create a long-term, holistic, and strategic system to invest money in areas that present a higher investment risk and thus need a boost to redevelop and help us achieve our city-building goals. Please support the sell-as-is strategy and push the conversation forward on creating a more holistic reserve fund to help invest and leverage opportunities to see The City Plan realized.
Sincerely,
Hani Barzagar
President
Infill Development in Edmonton Association
HIBCO Construction
Mariah Samji
Executive Director
Infill Development in Edmonton Association