It's about supply but also demand. And, as it stands, there is no demand for downtown living. People don't want to live near social disorder, with their safety at risk. I want DT to thrive, but some tough decisions are going to have to be made by the next council. Yes, the province has not done its part. But, with that reality, the city will have to decide if it wants DT to continue to fall behind or if it will introduce to 'tough love' to the area in terms of loitering and enforcing a zero tolerance approach to disorder. If that doesn't happen, ICE District phase two won't develop. A thriving urban area CANNOT exist side by side to what we have now in the core. Plain and simple.
 
^^ not sure I agree? For all the warts downtown has, when my daughter and her roomie were living in the downtown core in a high rise on 104th street, they loved it there because they could literally walk to the office, the gym, the grocery store, and Roger’s Place for the Oilers games and concerts. 🤷🏻‍♂️
 
My girlfriend just moved downtown to one of the newer buildings. She is doing fine and the building is not having issues with leasing up. No one is denying that there are problems with downtown and the surrounding areas, but I can't help but feel as though the people who complain the loudest about it are the ones who spend the least time there and frankly aren't well-positioned to speak to those issues. The Switch is a good example that flies in the face of conventional wisdom of there being no demand to live near places with social disorder. I personally feel that the momentum is going in a positive direction, and downtown certainly feels better than it did 5 years ago.
 
I think downtown from 105 to 109 Street is seeing more residential development. The Parks, Lotus and other proposals will really help with vibrancy.
 
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