Edmonton Construction Part 14 (October 2023)

[Kevin_foster]

yeah I've seen it too... pretty bad

[DKaz]

Blatchford started out slow but momentum is growing.

University District has an advantage that they designed it to be car friendly, which was needed since it's a little far from the nearest C-Train Station, although an acceptable distance from most of the university.

[ciudad_del_norte]

It's partially the staging. The land use plans for blatchford have always had lower densities in the area they started and on the western side of the site whereas the higher densities and mixed use were planned in the areas closer to the east side of the site near the LRT and NAIT. People complain about the LRT to nowhere, but it would have also been a stretch to develop LRT focused development before the train was there - or sell it as a place to live or do business while dealing with LRT construction.

Also, building commercial up front isn't always a good idea if you don't have the conditions to support it, or you need to be prepared to offer a lot of incentives to get businesses in there. Any new commercial in Blatchford would be competing with the existing vehicular oriented options across Kingsway (which, while less — - have a much broader market reach - while also serving Blatchford). There is also the old commercial industrial strip mall on Airport road that is probably going to be able to offer space substantially more cheaply than any shiny new mixed use commercial.

Now that the connections are being made across the LRT, the general transportation network is coming into place the higher density and mixed use developments probably start to make a bit more sense. It will still take a while before anything could be sustained by Blatchford alone, but connections to NAIT are a big opportunity that could start to build on itself.

[Big Jake]

Originally Posted by Slide

Saw blatchford recently... really leaves a lot to be desired. Looked like the middle part of terwillegar town with the endless rows of 4plexes. Where is the mixed use or apartment buildings?

Something like "University district" in Calgary was what I had hoped for. They built retail there at the same time as the housing; and somehow feels like they built it all way faster than blatchford. Also the housing their looks higher quality and nicer (brick cladding etc..)

Still leaves me in awe that what started as a spectacular international competition has delivered what looks like a boring dense suburb 15 years later.
Hopefully blatchford can draw on some inspiration.

You only notice now that a lot of Edmonton's buildings are boring and bland? And Blatchford should have been built out by now but no, we had to have drama and other — for years that held development back. #becauseEdmonton !

[TimB09]

Originally Posted by ciudad_del_norte

It's partially the staging. The land use plans for blatchford have always had lower densities in the area they started and on the western side of the site whereas the higher densities and mixed use were planned in the areas closer to the east side of the site near the LRT and NAIT. People complain about the LRT to nowhere, but it would have also been a stretch to develop LRT focused development before the train was there - or sell it as a place to live or do business while dealing with LRT construction.

Also, building commercial up front isn't always a good idea if you don't have the conditions to support it, or you need to be prepared to offer a lot of incentives to get businesses in there. Any new commercial in Blatchford would be competing with the existing vehicular oriented options across Kingsway (which, while less — - have a much broader market reach - while also serving Blatchford). There is also the old commercial industrial strip mall on Airport road that is probably going to be able to offer space substantially more cheaply than any shiny new mixed use commercial.

Now that the connections are being made across the LRT, the general transportation network is coming into place the higher density and mixed use developments probably start to make a bit more sense. It will still take a while before anything could be sustained by Blatchford alone, but connections to NAIT are a big opportunity that could start to build on itself.

Stop making so much sense!

[Harrison]

Originally Posted by Big Jake

You only notice now that a lot of Edmonton's buildings are boring and bland? And Blatchford should have been built out by now but no, we had to have drama and other — for years that held development back. #becauseEdmonton !

Built out by now? In what world? You don't even see greenfield develpoment in the burbs developed that fast lol

[CMD UW]

Originally Posted by Slide

Saw blatchford recently... really leaves a lot to be desired. Looked like the middle part of terwillegar town with the endless rows of 4plexes. Where is the mixed use or apartment buildings?

Something like "University district" in Calgary was what I had hoped for. They built retail there at the same time as the housing; and somehow feels like they built it all way faster than blatchford. Also the housing their looks higher quality and nicer (brick cladding etc..)

Still leaves me in awe that what started as a spectacular international competition has delivered what looks like a boring dense suburb 15 years later.
Hopefully blatchford can draw on some inspiration.

It's all based on phasing and the respective products they brought on within said phases. In Blatchford the medium density/mixed use buildings are a later phase (primarily clustered at/near the southern tip of the neighbourhood).

The scales are vastly different between Univeristy District and Blatchford at roughly 0.44 km2 to 1.99 km2, respectively. So it's not really a fair comparison at all.

[CMD UW]

Originally Posted by Harrison

Built out by now? In what world? You don't even see greenfield develpoment in the burbs developed that fast lol

Exactly...this isn't Cities: Skylines bruh.

[Big Jake]

Originally Posted by Harrison

Built out by now? In what world? You don't even see greenfield develpoment in the burbs developed that fast lol

I meant to say built up by now but yes I admit that is just a little quick isn't it?

[Coldrsx]

External ID

585501659-002

Job Type

Major Development Permit

Description

Addition to Existing Building, Exterior Alteration, Change of Use / Interior Alterations, Exterior Alterations to the Site

Applicant

FRANK ARCHITECTURE INC.

Status

Intake Review

Class of Permit

Create Date

April 10, 2025

Approval Date

Location

10053 - JASPER AVENUE NW Plan F Lots 6-7

Neighbourhood

DOWNTOWN

[Coldrsx]

7 storey uber-cool apartment















https://www.edmonton.ca/sites/default/fi...ttee-Agenda-May06-2025.pdf?cb=1746119147

[ExcaliburKid]

Million dollar views!

[s211]

^^ That's a relatively busy intersection but floor-to-ceiling glass is a WIN!

[ExcaliburKid]

Not construction related, but Manulife Place sounds like it's being renamed to National Bank Centre

[JonM]

Originally Posted by Coldrsx

External ID: 583643528-002
Job Type: Major Development Permit
Description: Construction of (a) new building(s)
Location: 10123 - 106 STREET NW Plan B2 Blk 5 Lot 133

Interesting, that was going to be a DCx zoned tower. Now it is "to construct a Residential building (170 Dwellings of Multi-unit Housing), with an underground parkade" and is UW zoned.

What makes it so interesting is that the site immediately north of that - which was going to be Edgar's two towers on a podium ("The Shift" I think?) - now has a rezoning application (ID 526867388-007) from DC2.1065 to UW. Along with the rezoning is an application to amend the UW zone to remove a regulation that limits density to 500 dwellings per hectare.

Both sites are just a bit under 0.35 hectares. 0.35 * 500 = ~175 dwellings

All of a sudden the UW zone is the one to use? When was the last time a major project went through the hassle of rezoning to a DC and then went back to one of the off the shelf zones? Or are they both banking on the density regulation to be removed?

[Coldrsx]

The reality is that the viability/market for concrete high-rise is rather limited right now and so to help move things forward UW works.

[Coldrsx]

Thanks Greenspace!

[CMD UW]

Originally Posted by JonM

Interesting, that was going to be a DCx zoned tower. Now it is "to construct a Residential building (170 Dwellings of Multi-unit Housing), with an underground parkade" and is UW zoned.

What makes it so interesting is that the site immediately north of that - which was going to be Edgar's two towers on a podium ("The Shift" I think?) - now has a rezoning application (ID 526867388-007) from DC2.1065 to UW. Along with the rezoning is an application to amend the UW zone to remove a regulation that limits density to 500 dwellings per hectare.

Both sites are just a bit under 0.35 hectares. 0.35 * 500 = ~175 dwellings

All of a sudden the UW zone is the one to use? When was the last time a major project went through the hassle of rezoning to a DC and then went back to one of the off the shelf zones? Or are they both banking on the density regulation to be removed?

When interest and construction costs exceed revenue expectations. De-risking requires using a conventional zone versus a Direct Control, which is prescriptive for the site.

I am curious to see what Autograph spits out for this site, but I bet it will be spectacular.

[Coldrsx]

Expecting a Mercury on steroids.

[JonM]

Just walked past the sign on this lot a few hours ago and I don't think it has been mentioned here yet. This is the small Impark lot (42 spaces) between the former Howard & McBride Chapel of Chimes funeral home and Carbon Graphics. Right across the street from the under construction Lotus Park. 108 St between Jasper and 102 Ave is the new hotness it seems.

Reference Id: Job No 527327156-002
Description: To construct a 54 Dwelling Residential Use building in the form of Multi-unit Housing with a main floor Food and Drink Service Use, and an underground Parkade.
Location: 10163 - 108 STREET NW Plan B2 Blk 7 Lots 99-100
Applicant: HSEA ARCHITECTURE INC.
Status: Issued
Create Date: 2024/08/22
Neighbourhood: DOWNTOWN
Issue Date: 2025/02/24
Class Of Permit: Discretionary Development
Notification Start Date: 2025/03/04
Notification End Date: 2025/03/25