sure ... whatever .... do we really care?

So basically he is the developer from HE double hockey sticks, wants to build it cheap, sell it really high, have everything pre-sold so there is no risk, etc.

Strange how so many other buildings have been done in town since 2005 and done with sub-trades, etc. Even the NSC was done, on time and on budget.

The reason why the units are not selling is they are targeting the wrong segment of the population. They keep talking about the UNBC downtown campus in the former BMO building and the students will flock to these $250,000 condos. There is no classes held at the BMO, there will be in about a 6 months, but very targeted and special programs. Your typical student will still go up the hill and can not afford a condo.

Why build it and have it sit empty? Eventually the government will buy a couple rooms for their bums to keep them down town and then it turns into a slum. Why build it?

I wonder if Harry Backlin's planned building on the corner of 7th and Victoria is still a go?

Last time I looked the weeds were growing 5 feet tall.

(Real nice picture on the sign, though)...

Mmmmh.

Flake?, he may be, but he still has a lot of people convinced...especially those who still have the dilusion that the downtown core can be a bustling place....
I doubt it.... it has become more and more of a ghost town every year, and I have been here for almost 40 of them.

In theory it has its merits...
will it work?

THE OWNERS OF THE NEW BINGO FACILITY DIDNT HAVE MUCH TROUBLE FINDING A GOOD CONTRACTOR..GUESS GHIAI JUST ISN'T LOOKING THAT HARD. PROBABLY DOSEN'T WANT TO PAY THE GOING RATE.

Speaking of the owner of that development. There are supposed to be 6 townhouse units built with that. It is one of the reasons why Council went for the development as I understand it.

Oh.... remember the building on 7th as well. Stood there for a decade with an empty lot and a trailer and nice picture. In the spring they went to get a change in the density and that was accepted. Had drawings which were not as "nice" as the original one was. Nada. Niente. Nichts. Nothing ......

We are just not interested in condos downtown or anywhere for that matter. They are building them in all the other cities our size, but not here.

Victoria Street needs to get the same make-over as Third Avenue already got. It would do wonders for the willingness of people to move into new apartments there!

Do Victoria, next George Street and then progress from there to do all the streets parallel to Third Avenue from Victoria to George Street.

One street every couple of years or even faster.

That is, if there really is a desire to rejuvenate the downtown.

Doing just one street every 25 or 30 years is not going to do the trick.

Do what?

How do you force people to go downtown to establish business when for instance customers must pay for parking?

There has to be an incentive and a near-guaranteed return on investment for downtown redevelopment to happen and so far, that isn't happening.

Needle exchange sites are mega-successful downtown. And there ain't no "return on investment" in that. Maybe one or two undocumented but prevented aids cases, maybe. Let it burn, intentional or unintentional. Vacant land, start from scratch.

"Do what?" Do what was done to Third Avenue, like proper sidewalks, street lights, free parking, etc.

The City must have an overall improvement plan and then carry it out. Not 20 years from now or 50 years from now. Now!

No business can be *forced* to go downtown. Naturally.

How about making the surroundings clean, modern and attractive for apartments, offices, sidewalk cafes, boutiques, performing arts centres, specialty stores and services, etc?

Pessimism is a near-guaranteed scheme for more deterioration and decay.

I was under the impression that there are numerous ongoing efforts by various societies and committies to *Improve The Downtown* - where are the results?

Where is the money going to come from?

Not from the city, at least not all of it.

I believe much of the third ave improvements were financed by the merchants, property owners, along with some government grants.

Oh and actually isn't this what Initiatives Prince George is supposed to be doing?

Kamloops 15 years ago had a downtown much like P.G. has now. Somehow it managed to become revitalized even as urban sprawl and shopping malls on the outskirts of town were built. Why not here????

Good question! It is possible elsewhere, with the right people in charge, obviously.

"Where is the money going to come from? "

From the same source that all the other money came from in the past for all the other mega projects!

"Initiatives Prince George."

Yep, that rings a bell!

Let's face it,the city has been trying to lure people/businesses to the downtown core for a long time.
Remember Cadillac Fairview?
It just isn't working and I don't think it ever will, until somebody starts at Victoria street with a row of D9 Cats and keeps going until they get to the river!
A good number of the ratty old buildings need to be gone!!
So far,I can't see one good reason why ANYONE would want to live in the downtown core or put serious money into a condo etc.
Start over!!!

Ratty old buildings or heritage sites? It is to laugh.

A politicians first and foremost job is to get re-elected. Most politicians can't see past the next election. Therefore, no long term planning or anything. 'Tis sad.

"Let's face it, the city has been trying to lure people/businesses to the downtown core for a long time."

I disagree very strongly with that. When I came here in 1973, the Bay was downtown, there were new buildings which had just gone up that year and were going up in the next year. The Oxford building was one, which is now the Fed. Gov. building.

There were stores along that all of 3rd avenue from Victoria to at least Dominion. There were two furriers with high end clothes, there was men’s wear store. Bowie’s had his women’s clothing store with wedding dresses upstairs. There were no empty spaces near either the IBC or BOM. Those spaces were occupied with stores.

On Friday nights and Saturdays one would typically run across half of one’s friends shopping.

Parkwood existed as a shopping mall with Woodwards and their great grocery store.

Pine Centre opened in 1974, I believe with Sears. We actually had three department stores here until Woodward’s folded its operations throughout the province. The Bay had a great furniture department which they just re-introduced recently on a smaller scale.

There were night clubs/restaurants all over the place – Simon Fraser, Inn of the North, Schnitzel, even the MacDonald, the Canada, etc. We came from Toronto, the U of T District on Spadina and Bloor – where there were two famous night clubs, El Mocambo and the Silver Dollar. Both famous from celebrities attending and being sung about in songs. The clubs on George and Third were no different than those “hangouts”. The ones in Toronto became tourist Meccas and the one’s here were torn down because they were inhabited by “the wrong crowd.”

Anyway, it was a place that was alive and ready to be “gentrified” in parts as most of those types of places are.

We then got the “clean house” mentality. Tear the active places down and provide inactive places – a court house … and an attempt at a downtown shopping mall in Plaza 400. The latter failed miserably at what it was trying to be. It was actually a precursor of what would have happened if Cadillac Fairview’s proposal had been built. Great for the first five years .. then a slow change over of tenants form retail to service, and then shut down of store fronts with blank spaces. Look at Peterborough, Ontario for how it works. Take a closer look at Edmonton Mall as well. We were there 3 years ago. At that time it was a pig sty.

City Hall has drawn people away from downtown. They provide services to new growth in suburbia. The now use terms such as “smart growth” when they really do not understand “smart growth”. The block that used to be Safeway and was busy with people has switched from that to a number of failed businesses with the longest tenant being a gambling establishment which will now move and be replaced by a Police Station. That will create another “dead” opportunity for retail, the same as the court house and even Plaza 400 which is basically three full blocks of dead wall space in what should be a prime downtown location.

Please, do not say that the City has been trying to lure people downtown. Quite the opposite is true and there is no one who has the guts to tell them that.

Yes Owl,back in those days it WAS a going concern,but since the early 80's the parade out of the downtown core has been steady.
(it WAS a fun place back then!)
Now try and get them back.
Better still,why would any business want to come back?
No question the expansion to the outlying areas in regards to retail property development has hurt the downtown core and will continue to do so.
Blame the city for that!
Remember when the city actually TRIED to keep it all down in the bowl?
It only makes good economic sense to get out of downtown and unfortunately that's all businesses care about.
Since the decline began in earnest,the city has been yacking about revitalization in the downtown core and yet it has not happened.
What's been done to encourage this except talk?
Where are the incentives?
Very few it would seem.
And I tried parking down there a while back on a busy day...what a joke!
The deadbeats were out in full force!
Nice place alright if you like a cesspool!
So,no I do not think it WILL happen until there is some sort of massive redevelopment of many of the downtown properties which has to include tearing down several blocks and a re-design of the streets.
Actually,why anyone would consider building condo's downtown under the present conditions is a bit hard to understand.
To say nothing of the air quality considering it's proximity to the stinkholes across the river or the banging of railcars in the middle of the night.
You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear and the entire area has had it's day in the sun.
IMO,complete razing of much it below Victoria only makes sense or the decline will continue.
City managment in general needs to either put up or shut up, because THEY are the problem even though they talk a good story.
All the hanging baskets and flowers in the world will not change that.

I came to pg in the late 80's. Downtown was a dump then and it still is.

The whole Metropolis thing has been a fine example of an election "dirty tricks committee" in rallying last minute undecided votes. Remember, Kinsley came within 600 votes of losing his seat to Dan Rogers.

Very true "mouseland" and at the rate he is going,he may not be quite as lucky next time!
Like most politicians who stay too long at the fair,his arrogance is showing!
I guess it will depend on who runs against him?

Sorry...I am off topic...again!

**METROPOLIS**

Websters. The main City, often the Capital, of a Country, State, or Region. Any large City or centre of population, culture, etc;

The use of the name Metropolis for this downtown venture should tell you the whole story. Metropolis indeed.