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As more than seven billion people on this planet are constantly urged to keep further apart from each other, here in Calgary our city council is determined to spend lots of money and squish us bemused citizens closer together.
That about sums up city hall’s latest move to once again try revitalizing downtown and thereby lure lots of Calgarians to live there.
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This time it isn’t just an expensive tweak or two, such as building a new arena, bridge or library. Nor is city hall content with upgrading a district or planning some new glitzy development, such as they once did with Olympic Plaza and Eau Claire.
The City of Calgary ended 2020 with a $219.3-million surplus after government aid packages arrived to help cover the pandemic-fuelled revenue crisis for municipalities across Canada. The number is significantly higher than the $98-million surplus that council’s audit committee heard about last week . That’s because that total included the financials from wholly owned subsidiaries, including Enmax. Strictly looking at city operations, the surplus.
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City council approved a new plan Monday to stop downtown Calgary’s decline.
The Greater Downtown Plan is a strategy to find a long-term fix for the vacancy problem in the core, where nearly one-third of available office space is currently empty. It aims to create a better mix of residential and business space, draw in more private investment and create more opportunities for amenities and entertainment in central neighbourhoods.
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Council voted 10-3 to approve an initial $200-million investment in the plan, with $123 million coming from city reserves and an additional $77 million in anticipated federal infrastructure funding.