Council Weighs Giving Away 35 Acres of Blatchford for $1
A council report is examining a transfer of about 35 acres of Blatchford, a tenth of the site, for as little as $1. Jesse says city staff have warned the move could weaken the project's finances and cut about 860 planned homes, and that no public consultation has been held.
Council Weighs Giving Away 35 Acres of Blatchford for $1
A tenth of the city’s flagship redevelopment could change hands for a dollar. Jesse says the public hasn’t been asked.
Edmonton city council is weighing whether to hand over roughly 35 acres of Blatchford, about a tenth of the redevelopment's land, for as little as $1, according to a council report highlighted this week by Jesse Watson.
“Edmonton’s high spending pet project focused council is weighing giving away 35 acres of Blatchford, a tenth of its land, for as little as $1. Yes, it’s in a council report,” Jesse wrote in the post, which he shared on Instagram with @justinthomasyeg and on his Facebook page. The graphic that runs with it lays the Blatchford site map under a blunt line: “Council exploring an urban reserve.”
Jesse says city staff have warned that the transfer could weaken the project’s finances and cut about 860 of the homes planned for the site. He also says no public consultation has been held on the proposal.
“Yes, it’s in a council report.”Jesse Watson, on the Blatchford proposal
Blatchford’s future has been a running theme on Jesse’s channels. A Nov. 1 reel showed open, undeveloped fields at the site beneath the on-screen question “Blatchford has no land for high density?” A same-day post from his account on X returned to the question of land next to an LRT station for high-density infill.
Transit sits at the centre of that argument. In February, Jesse noted that Blatchford Gate LRT station remains closed because city policy requires enough nearby residents to justify opening it, even after nearly $300 million spent on the extension and about $700 million planned for Blatchford. He called the gap a failure of planning and accountability.
The proposal also lands in the middle of the city’s infill debate. Jesse says he supports infill, but argues it should be built in context, including on vacant land beside LRT stations, rather than mid-block in mature neighbourhoods.
The post has struck a chord. By the morning of Nov. 14 it had drawn 259 likes on Instagram and, on Facebook, 151 reactions, 101 comments and 32 shares.
The full post, including the council report details Jesse cites, is on Instagram and Facebook. ■
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