Downtown Calgary: Cash Cow and City

downtown calgary: Downtown Calgary has long been viewed as both an economic driver, employing a quarter of the city's workforce, and a cash cow for city hall because, in better times, it generated 40 per cent of non-residential tax revenue, according to The Toronto Star. Christina Ryan / Star Metro Calgary A preliminary report headed to the city's priorities and finance committee meeting on Tuesday paints a grim picture as administration projects the 2019 assessed value of downtown offices from roughly 16 billion to 12 billion half what they were worth just five years ago. The breathtaking drop means non-residential property owners outside the city's core will shoulder the burden and force elected officials to consider, yet again, another round of short-term tax relief and, possibly, a long-term solution. The downtown core has long been viewed as both an economic driver, employing a quarter of the city's workforce, and a cash cow for city hall because, in better times, it generated 40 per cent of non-residential tax revenue. Article Continued Below The impact was brutally swift and painfully slow to reverse. But collapsing oil prices in 2014 sparked the gutting of Calgary's office towers as energy companies doled out thousands of pink slips, closed shop, or relocated. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.