Commercial real estate industry leaders want to have a say in revisions to Calgary’s Calgary’s proposed Green Line revisions.

NAIOP and BOMA, along with the Calgary Downtown Association, have issued a joint letter to Premier Danielle Smith, Transportation Minister Devin Dreeshen and Mayor Jyoti Gondek, calling for a commercial real estate industry advisory committee to be formed, according to multiple reports.

“We want to be in the room to help participate and build a fantastic product for Calgary,” CDA Eecutive-director Mark Garner told Postmedia.

Last week, the city and province announced that they have agreed to allow construction to resume on the portion of the Green Line that extends from 4th Street S.E. near downtown to Shepard in southeast Calgary. In the meantime, engineering firm AECOM will devise a new section for the downtown with tracks to be at ground level or elevated.

The downtown section will link to other lines in the C-Train system across the city.

The Alberta government has recommitted its $1.5-billion share of the project that had a cost of $6.2 billion when Calgary’s city council voted in September to wind it down amid a dispute with the province. The Smith government pulled its share of the funding due to concerns about the high cost and opposition to proposed tunnelling downtown to allow trains to run underground in that area.

Meanwhile, several announced and contemplated commercial real estate projects have been caught in the political crossfire. The projects include a new station and other proposed commercial real estate projects tied to the former Eau Claire Market site downtown.

The letter notes NAIOP, BOMA and CDA members own billions of dollars worth of real estate in the city, according to the reports.

The province has accused the city of turning the Green Line into a financial “boondoggle.” City council was told that the wind-down will cost $850 million on top of $1.3 billion already spent on setup costs that include land acquisition, bringing total expenses to $2.1 billion.

The province has also blamed Naheed Nenshi, the city’s former mayor, of mishandling the proposed project while he was in office. Nenshi now leads the Alberta NDP, the Official Opposition in the Legislature.

He has accused the government of jeopardizing the Green Line, the economy and jobs due to its decision to pull its funding.

AECOM was initially expected to complete its revision by December and devise a new entire route. But it now appears that the firm will focus on the downtown section.

Rendering: Harvard Developments