Its well known that the Blatchford development on the former city airport site has received both some praise and much criticism in its 10+ years of tenure. The initial vision was for it to lead an energy-focused re-development which to date has not been successful using standard building metrics. There have been fewer residences built and those that have cost more than comparable residences in other parts of the city.
Blatchford has been a costly project not just for builders and residents. The city says they have invested at least $167 million thus far, though Councellor Tim Cartmell suggests the amount is closer to $232 million.
Last April Mayor Amarjeet Sohi suggested Blatchford was “not a huge success." Councellor Anne Stevenson says Blatchford hit several milestones in 2024 which were an “inflection point” to judge the project’s success.
The city initially marked 2042 as when it expects Blatchford to house 30,000 residents within its 536 acres. From where we are today it may be too early to label Blatchford as a blight or a late bloomerr for Edmonton.
I think Blatchford was largely driven by a council who bought into a "climate change, green agenda." They may well have thought they were leading the way but the fact that few are yet following calls that into question.