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I find it interesting that many politicians and advocates for more housing don’t seem to drive around our city. There are new areas being developed that include multi-housing choices. So availability is not the issue, it is affordability. The majority of condo complexes are not rentals, and if they do include rental suites, they are priced high. New homes being built, whether single or multi-residential are definitely out of reach for many first-time buyers.
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Perhaps with all condo builds there has to be a certain amount of rental units for lower incomes. Perhaps the concept of rent to own could be incorporated for some new builds.
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Transit-oriented developments in Bridgeland and Brentwood sold out quickly, leaving the city to assume they were wanted/needed. But the Brentwood one, being close to U of C, had many investors buying units to rent out to students. And the further-out ones are the less popular for purchasing. The London complex is a prime example. The first building sold quickly but when the second building was completed, it sat nearly empty for over a year before turning into a rental building with high rents.
Densification only will work if what is being built is affordable.
Dixie Watson, Calgary
Moratorium won’t hurt in the long game
An article proclaims Enviro groups slam clean-energy pause. Well, of course, they do. They have a vested interest in seeing taxpayer money continue to flow to these organizations and the companies involved.
It may be a good idea to expand the sources of energy, particularly the electrical grid, but questions remain about using valuable farmland and what to do with these facilities when they reach the end of life. I suspect that these are the same people who complain about orphan oil wells and why those sites have not seen remediation.
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A few months’ pause will make no difference to whether projects go ahead. Alberta is still one of the best places to invest and will be so in early 2024 as it is now.
Pearson James, Calgary
Blood donors needed
I’m well into my 70s now and still donating to Canadian Blood Services – platelets, in my case, as I’ve got a high platelet count. I used to donate whole blood and plasma and was in the one bone marrow program for several decades (and never got even a potential match, which shows you how hard it is to find a matching donor).
My soft sell has always been ‘free soft drinks and junk food’. My hard sell boils down to: “Would you give your right arm to save the life of your child?” “Would you mind suffering a small amount of inconvenience to save the life of mine?”
Doug James, Calgary