Calgary cancer centre proposed for Stadium Shopping Centre site
Although company made offer, official says proposal was not authorized
The Calgary company that has been working for years to redevelop the Stadium Shopping Centre may have a new plan for the site.
Western Securities submitted a proposal to the Alberta government earlier this year, offering to enter a long-term lease that would allow the province to build a new Calgary cancer centre on the land.
Under the 30-year, $365-million lease, Western Securities would retain ownership of the land. In exchange for an annual lease payment, the province could build a new $1.2 billion cancer centre that would replace the outdated Tom Baker Centre at the nearby Foothills hospital site.
An official with Alberta Infrastructure, Robert Storrier, tells CBC News that the government has the offer from Western Securities and is reviewing it.
"The project has been received and, presently, it's currently under consideration," said Storrier. "No decisions have been made."
Land transfer completed
Last December, city council approved selling a strip of city-owned reserve land along 16th Avenue NW to Western Securities. The company asked to buy the land so it could expand its planned multi-use redevelopment. The land transfer was completed in late January 2015.
The company plans to demolish the existing 1960s strip mall on the site and replace it with several buildings, including condominium towers, office space, retail and a hotel.
Although Western Securities has spent millions of dollars and invested several years of work on its redevelopment plans, a new proposal was sent to the Alberta government last February.
The document outlines a request to negotiate a long-term lease arrangement that would allow the NDP government to build a new cancer centre on the site.
Sources say Prentice rejected proposal
In the written proposal, the company wants a signed deal with the province by this August and would like its first lease payment from the government in March 2017.
Sources in the PC party tell CBC News that the proposal was rejected by the Prentice government in the weeks prior to its decision in March to go ahead with a new cancer facility at the South Health Campus.
However, during the provincial election, NDP leader Rachel Notley expressed her preference for the Foothills site. During a recent cabinet meeting in Calgary, Premier Notley said there would soon be an announcement on the long-awaited project.
Not official proposal, says company
Although the offer was submitted by Western Securities and the government acknowledges it is actively looking at it, an official with the company denies it's a legitimate offer.
Mike Brescia, who is a vice-president with Western Securities, confirmed the offer was made by a senior company official. However, he said that person acted without approval.
"This was done on his own accord and without the direction of the ownership and/or me, as the project leader for the Stadium project," said Brescia.
He acknowledged that the senior official who made the offer has not been disciplined nor dismissed for his actions.
Brescia also said that Western Securities has not contacted the NDP government to inform it that the offer should be disregarded. He did not offer any explanation why that hadn't been done.
Brescia said Western Securities plans to apply for a development permit for its mixed-use development in the next couple of months and would like to start construction in 2016.
"It's truly an unfortunate situation and I apologize on behalf of the company for the confusion," said Brescia.
Neighbours surprised by the proposal
A group that has represented near-by residents through the redevelopment process was surprised to learn of the proposed cancer centre lease offer.
Residents have raised concerns about the size of the proposed mixed-use development and the traffic that would be associated with it once it opens.
The president of the St Andrew's Heights Community Association, Jacques Gendron, said he was flabbergasted to hear of the proposal to bring the cancer centre to the land on the northwest corner of 16th Avenue and Uxbridge Drive N.W.
When told of Brescia's comments about the lease proposal, Gendron said: "It hasn't been retracted. It has not been withdrawn or amended and so as communities, not having been involved in any discussions, we're completely taken aback at the tremendous change in the proposed use of that site."
Given that the government is considering the offer — even though the company says it isn't legitimate — Gendron is asking for clarification from both parties.
It's not known how city officials feel about the proposal. Both Mayor Naheed Nenshi and area councillor Ward Sutherland had no comment when contacted by CBC News about the cancer centre offer.
There have been several lengthy hearings held by city council on the redevelopment plans for the Stadium Shopping Centre site.
Council has backed Western's plans which would revitalize the area and increase density at the site, a key goal in the Municipal Development Plan.
