Katz Group granted extension to agreement allowing surface parking lots north of Rogers Place
The organization that owns the Edmonton Oilers and controls Rogers Place can keep operating the surface parking lots just north of the downtown arena for another five years while it waits to begin the second phase of Ice District construction.
The agreement between the Katz Group and the city that allows the lots to operate as paid parking expired last year, but Edmonton city council voted Tuesday to extend the pact until 2029.
While most councillors believe surface parking lots are an unsuitable use of downtown land, spokespeople for the Katz Group say the decision to redevelop the land will be based on market conditions and not on its ability to charge for parking.
A community spokesperson told city council neighbours are fed up with traffic during events and social disorder.
Without the extension to the agreement, the lots would sit empty and possibly be fenced off.
"The choice that I feel is in front of us is a surface parking lot or a vacant lot, and a vacant lot that will not be redeveloped any faster by virtue of being empty, Ward O-Day'min councillor Anne Stevenson said.
The lots are slated for a 2,500-unit urban village — for which plans were unveiled two years ago — as part of the second phase of Ice District development that focuses on residential development.
As part of the extension of the agreement to keep the parking lots in place, the Katz Group agreed to create pedestrian paths in them, and add bushes along the perimeter and 13 trees.
Correction
In a previous version of this story, the parking lots were described as gravel ones. In fact, the lots for which city council granted an extension for thr Katz Group to operate them as surface parking include both gravel and paved surfaces.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Prince William and Kate release photo of daughter Charlotte to mark ninth birthday
Prince William and his wife Kate released a picture of their daughter Charlotte to mark the princess's ninth birthday on Thursday.
Ontario man loses $1,500 applying for Nexus cards on social media
The trusted traveller program between Canada and the United States is extremely popular and almost two million Canadians have a Nexus card.
NEW Facial reconstruction reveals what a 40-something Neanderthal woman may have looked like
Scientists studying a Neanderthal woman's remains have painstakingly pieced together her skull from 200 bone fragments to understand what she may have looked like.
Concerns about Plexiglas prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall Plexiglas barriers.
Weight-loss drug Wegovy available in Canada starting May 6
The makers of Ozempic say their weight-loss drug Wegovy will be available to patients in Canada starting Monday.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Goring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
This Canadian restaurant just lowered its prices. Here's how it did it
A Canadian restaurant lowered its prices this week, and though news of price tags dropping rather than climbing sounds unusual, the business strategy in this case is not, according to experts in the field.
NEW Companies letting customers opt out of Mother's Day ads
In an effort to balance the profitability of Mother's Day with the pain it causes some people, some brands are offering customers the choice to opt out of Mother's Day email advertising.
NEW A mother's hopes to free her son from a Syrian prison is revitalized by a new human rights report
Just days before the seventh anniversary of the day Jack Letts was thrown in prison with thousands of suspected ISIS fighters, his mother, Sally Lane, delivered a small stack of envelopes to the headquarters of Global Affairs Canada in Ottawa.