Edmonton Construction 13 (November 2015)

[Edmontonium]

I strongly believe that legislative grounds would look way better without annexes terraces and similar 🞵🞵🞵🞵 that visually makes it cheap place fitting farmers mentality. Get rid of that greenhouse on the slope. And you will see beautiful place in the heart of the city.

[MalcolmTucker]

An alternative was putting the RAM where Terrace is.

[Channing]

The grade change that separate the river valley there from the Leg grounds is more of a barrier than the Terrace Building.

Reading these comments I was all for the better connection, as it took me YEARS to know that the lower Leg ground areas even existed despite having been in the river valley a lot right in that area.

But then I looked at it in google, to understand, why had I always missed the potential connection? And it's a big grade change and River Valley Road preventing any real access across.

Could it be changed and made into a better access point? Sure. But not as easily as just removing the Terrace Building.

[Hallsy's Toupee]

Really nice autumn night to walk around downtown - one can rarely say that about mid-November in this province! Nice to see the core alive, with lots of CFR and Oiler game attendees filling the streets and packing the eateries.

Some random notes:

• Quite a few places either closed early or didn't open at all. Obviously this was due to the Remembrance holiday, but on most evenings many downtown retailers and eateries still shut down by 6 PM. I'm surprised that they don't want to stay open until 9 PM during Rogers Place event nights, or when there's lots of people in town for things such as the CFR. I'm especially looking at you, Edmonton City Centre mall.
• Jasper Ave between 102 - 103 St can use some better lighting, it's a very dark gloomy stretch. It doesn't help matters that Enterprise Square has been a dead zone since Rogers pulled their TV and radio outlets out of there. What makes that block bearable are the eateries west of the Paramount.
• I like what they are doing with the new board game bar that's coming to 100 Ave/103 St (across from Rigolettos). New windows have been installed on this old bunker.
• The fenced off windows at the Alder Room space still bug me
• Mongolie Grill space has been totally gutted to bare concrete, not sure if it's been leased. I'm betting on a fast food place opening there.
• I really wish the Canada Permanent building was alive again.
• Is Alibi gonna open in the Treasury/XO space sometime this decade, or what?

[Daveography]

Did some construction photo updates last week, just getting around to sharing them:

The MacLaren, excavation in progress:



MEC Brewery District:



(More, including other buildings in the Brewery District)

MacEwan CFAC, now working on hard- and softscaping:



(More)

NorQuest Singhmar Centre:



(More)

Five Oaks, nearly fully clad in that gorgeous clear glass:



(More)

WSP Place:



Mayfair:



(More)

Hendrix:



(More)

Symphony, foundation work now underway:



(More)

Fox Two, nearly topped out, masonry work continuing on east side:



(More)

Ice District Tower "B", now excavated to about P3:



(More)

JW Marriott:



(More)

Edmonton Tower, sidewalks all around are now at least partially open, parkade now open, streetscaping elements going in:



(More)

Stantec:



(More)

Enbridge Centre, pedway nearly fully enclosed, 101 St. sidewalk now open:



http://edmonton.skyrisecities.com/forum/...og-architects.23151/page-11#post-1164045

Scotia Place reclad, mullions are coming off from the NW tower:

[Daveography]

Attended the open house for the Holyrood Gardens redevelopment on Wednesday. Really good turnout, about 400 people by one estimate.

Same concept HCL was shown last month was brought forward (7 towers, 22-26 stories with 3-5 story townhouses and apartments).

Lots of good community feedback, about the range you would expect from "build nothing" to "too tall" to "this is good as-is." Actually I was surprised by how many people I spoke to that had few issues with the height and density proposed.

See photos here:
http://edmonton.skyrisecities.com/forum/...ments-der-associates.26188/#post-1164452

(I would share a couple here directly but they don't scale well on this forum and are too large):

[itom 987]

Excellent update Daveography, thanks for sharing.

As for Hollyrod Gardens, I'm disappointed that they didn't show any massing images. The comments on the stickies are the usual given the demographic present at the meeting.

[noodlenoodle]

Originally Posted by Hallsy's Toupee

It's not just the views. How about better access from the Legislature to the river valley and vice versa? With the Rossdale plant and the surrounding area up for redevelopment, I think Lower Rossdale should be better integrated with the Leg grounds.

Another idea I once had for the Terrace is to turn it into a promenade akin to the Victoria Promenade.

The "surrounding area" is just the small part around the old decommissioned power plant. Not the substation nor the water treatment plant.

Blue & orange areas aren't going anywhere, ever.

[Daveography]

^ He might be referring to the West Rossdale plans:
https://www.edmonton.ca/projects_plans/communities_neighbourhoods/west-rossdale-river-crossing.aspx

[noodlenoodle]

That actually illustrates how much ongoing operations will impinge on the redevelopment.



That entire eastern divot is due to EPCOR's continuing operations in the area & illustrates the real barriers that are now & will remain in place for river valley revitalization in the area. I'm all for the sentiment that backs the Rossdale redevelopment plans, but realistically I can't think of a worse place to try and get people next to the river than between a busy bridge & immovable civic infrastructure.

[240glt]

A sign of the times here in the Capilano/ Gold Bar/ Fulton neighbourhoods. These blue signs are popping up everywhere.. i bet almost half the people on my street have one

They're quite organized, we had the lawyers come to the house & everything. We politely declined, we may end up with the only sub-dividable lot on our street which is fine by me when we go to sell

[noodlenoodle]

Always makes me giggle when people are organized enough to have leaflets & signs printed, lawyers on retainer but not so organized as to have a proper domain name or website set up.

[oiler-dude]

Originally Posted by 240glt

A sign of the times here in the Capilano/ Gold Bar/ Fulton neighbourhoods. These blue signs are popping up everywhere.. i bet almost half the people on my street have one

They're quite organized, we had the lawyers come to the house & everything. We politely declined, we may end up with the only sub-dividable lot on our street which is fine by me when we go to sell

Had them visit me over in Fulton Place as well, also politely declined to sign the covenant. I'm find with lot splitting, but I would like to see some stricter guidelines as far as what ends up getting built as, looking at other neighbourhoods with skinny homes, they could definitely done better in some cases.

[Coldrsx]

FYI

Networking Breakfast:Large Building Energy Benchmarking & Reporting
Date/Time: Friday November 18th, 7:30am to 9am
Location: Mayfair Room, 3rd Floor, Delta Edmonton Centre Suite Hotel (10222 – 102nd Street, Edmonton, AB)
 
 
Event Description:
 
You are invited by the[ http://www.cagbc.org/ ]Canada Green Building Council® to join a networking breakfast with Thomas Mueller, President & CEO, to learn about the Canada-wide energy benchmarking, reporting and disclosure initiative and explore how to take advantage of an opportunity to champion this program in Edmonton.
 
Last April, the Canada Green Building Council® (CaGBC®) released a white paper titled[ http://www.cagbc.org/cagbcdocs/CaGBC_National_Energy_Benchmarking%20_Framework_April_2016.pdf ]‘Energy Benchmarking, Reporting & Disclosure in Canada: A Guide to a Common Framework’ which sets parameters for what a consistent approach to energy benchmarking on a national scale would look like, with the goal of driving municipalities across the country to establish or enhance local energy benchmarking and reporting requirements. In addition, the report[ http://www.cagbc.org/CAGBC/Zero_Carbon/ZeroCarbon.aspx ]‘CaGBC® Zero Carbon Buildings Framework: For Commercial, Institutional and Multi-Family Buildings in Canada’ report was released last week.
 
The [ https://www.edmonton.ca/city_government/environmental_stewardship/energy-transition.aspx ]City of Edmonton's Energy Transition Unit is currently in the planning stages of a city-wide Large Building Energy Reporting & Disclosure program in order to achieve significant greenhouse gas emissions reductions and greater energy efficiency in Edmonton's commercial buildings. This program, among others, is being pursued to achieve the targets outlined in Edmonton’s Community Energy Transition Strategy.
 
Join the Alberta Chapter of the CaGBC® and the City of Edmonton for breakfast, networking and to learn more about these initiatives.
 
Event registration is by invitation only.
Register with your email address to confirm your attendance with Sandra Golightly
at[ mailto:[email protected] ][email protected]  or 780-669-3825 / 403-770-2850
before Monday November 14, 2016.
Best regards,
 
J. Ruby Cole
 
Regional Director
Canada Green Building Council® – Alberta Chapter

[CMD UW]

These people adding caveats to their title will realize how shortsighted they were in due time. Good luck is what I say to them.

[Coldrsx]

Infill lunch and learn next week -

DESCRIPTION
Join Colton Kirsop and Anne Stevenson from the City of Edmonton at UDI New Horizons next Lunch N' Learn, to learn more about how the Zoning Bylaw team is working to transform Edmonton's built form. Their presentation will include highlights on recent infill trends, upcoming projects to encourage the missing middle, and changes to minimum parking requirements. They'll also share Information on a range of exciting initiatives coming up in 2017 and how you can be involved. Sign up today!
Details
When: Thursday, November 24, 2016
Registration: 11:30 pm Lunch: 12 – 1:00 pm
Where: Westin Hotel (10135 – 100th Street NW)
Cost*: $30 includes buffet lunch ($40 at the door)
*Registration is by credit card only. Tickets are transferable but no refunds will be offered. RSVP by Friday November 18th

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/lunch-n-lear...d-more-tickets-29233567387?aff=ehomecard

[McBoo]

Thanks Dave for those great shots. Random thoughts:

MacEwan CFAC, now working on hard- and softscaping:

Funny - WB on 104 it's stunning. EB, not so much. But still, great addition to what (in my lifetime maybe even) could become a grand boulevard.

Five Oaks, nearly fully clad in that gorgeous clear glass:

Love the glass, but wonder how future residents will protect their privacy, 'cause w/o window coverings they'll have none! As in zero.

WSP Place:

What some new, higher end competition in the marketplace won't incent!

Mayfair:

Say what ya will about Procura, and I have as much as anyone else, classy addition to that important corner.

Fox Two, nearly topped out, masonry work continuing on east side:

Long after I'm dead, my great grand-kids will thank us for having saved the Boardwalk and Revlon buildings. W-O-W. Great shot.

[rapid_business]

Originally Posted by CMD UW

These people adding caveats to their title will realize how shortsighted they were in due time. Good luck is what I say to them.

Yup. Good article in the Calgary Herald this weekend about RC's that hide on title and how they can have disastrous effects even if the community is supportive of planned development: http://calgaryherald.com/life/swerve/sui...t-dashes-laneway-retirement-house-dreams

[240glt]

^. Well that's a little different, they knew about the covenant but thought it wasn't a big deal. Caveat Emptor

[Daveography]

Edmonton Tower is officially open:



Kids & Company is the first tenant to open and we should all be jealous of their outdoor play space:



Bunch more photos here:
http://edmonton.skyrisecities.com/forum/...m-development.24171/page-14#post-1165471