Pair of 25-storey residential towers proposed for Edmonton's 124th Street
Local business owner concerned about planned development
A new proposed residential development on 124th Street isn't sitting right with one local business owner.
Casia Developments is behind two proposed highrise buildings on 124th Street between 105th and 106th avenues, just north of where the Valley Line West LRT is being constructed. Each tower could be up to 25 storeys.
Edmonton city council will address the proposal on Oct. 21.
Sandy Muldrew, owner of The Prints and The Paper, a store located just a block away from the proposed location, said he's not sure that the new development would actually bring more foot traffic and he's worried the towers would change the character of the area.
"Basically, you can look at them as vertical gated communities, where people are cut off from the street and from the community," he told Mark Connolly on Edmonton AM.
For him, if these buildings are going to be residential buildings, 25 storeys is simply too high.
"This is not good for the street, it doesn't fit with … why the street is so welcoming and so open and so airy and sunny, and why people come to the street," he said.
"Putting it on the street is just going to erode what makes the street successful."
Dave Onishenko, with Clarity Development Advisory, said the proposal is about renewing and utilizing abandoned spaces in the city.
"This takes an existing site that has some boarded up and dilapidated buildings, and reinvests in that with new space," he said. "It fits a lot of both the city objectives and helping achieve what makes 124th Street great."
Onishenko believes this proposal will contribute to the city's strategic vision, principles and goals as outlined in The City Plan.
As part of the Priority Growth Area Rezoning plan, the city has identified 124th Street as one of the 19 primary corridors, where they want to expand on infrastructure to draw more foot traffic.
"I think what matters most in this area though is, when you're talking about that form and character of 124th Street, it's that pedestrian realm experience," he said.
"At the end of the day, additional residents in these various housing typologies…could become residents who frequent the businesses."
The development report noted that the sidewalk on the east side of 124th Street might not be wide enough to accommodate a building of the magnitude planned by the developer.
Muldrew says he believes that many business owners on his street are still unaware of the proposal. He's planning to attend the city council hearing next week.
"I'm sort of trying to bring awareness to this," he said.
"Once those buildings are there, they're there for 100 years. You can't go back."
Onishenko said this is something that the development company and the city will keep in mind, although the current plan isn't set in stone just yet.
"The design that was shown is not necessarily the intention. This is showing what the max development could be," he said.
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With files from Ken Dawson