Daryl Katz weighs in on ICE District Phase One and Two
BY JESSICA KENT – ROGERSPLACE.COM
We’ve been watching the towers rise and new businesses open in and around ICE District. In an interview with the man behind it all, 630 CHED’s Bob Stauffer spoke to Daryl Katz, who earnestly spoke about his project – Rogers Place, and ICE District Phase One and Two.
“Rogers Place was only the first step” Katz, Chairman of Oilers Entertainment Group explained.
“The next buildings to open in the plaza will change the face of downtown Edmonton.”
ICE District Phase One will house four towers with a combination of residential, offices, a hotel, retail and restaurants. They will surround a public plaza that will be active year round. With Edmonton Tower up and running, Stantec Tower is next on the roster to open with staff scheduled to move in as early as October 2018. The J.W. Marriott luxury hotel should open its doors in early 2019, with the plaza following early 2020.
“We still have a lot of work to do to build out and fine tune the fan experience which is really what it’s about, but there’s still a lot more to come.”
Earlier this year ICE District Phase Two was announced. That phase will be mostly residential and will live on the north side of Rogers Place.
“What you’re going to see in Phase Two is no less than 4,000 apartment units, and those will be available to anybody who wants to come live in ICE District,” said Katz.
Construction on Phase Two is expected to begin before Phase One is fully complete.
“It’s a very ambitious plan, but we’re moving forward with development as fast as we can.”
For Katz, filling all the residential units will be an earmark of success. “I’ve said from the beginning, if you build all this stuff, but people don’t come live downtown, we’ve failed.”
“I’m not going to weigh in on the Calgary issue, we’re proud of what we did in the city of Edmonton and we should be a model that others can look towards.”