I'm surprised it's taken them this long. I believe each and every one of their petty concerns have been addressed and thwarted here ages ago, but here we go....
Condo tower raises ire
High-rise will not mesh with character in Nutana: residents
Published: Tuesday, December 05, 2006
A developer's plan to build a high-rise condominium on Broadway Avenue has some Nutana residents and local history buffs agitated.
But there's not much the project's opponents can do to stop construction of the 12-storey building, since its future home at the corner of Broadway and Ninth Avenue is already zoned for just that sort of high-density residential use, said Karl Miller of Meridian Developments in an interview Monday.
"Those are the same people that are . . . complaining about urban sprawl and (saying that) our city is spreading out too far," Miller said. "If you want Saskatoon to grow, it has to go one of two ways: out or up. If you don't want it to grow outwards, it has to go higher." In a letter received by city council at its regular meeting on Monday, Saskatoon Heritage Society president Victoria Neufeldt argued a high-rise at that location will stick out like a sore thumb in one of the city's most character- rich neighbourhoods, and set an ominous precedent for other projects on Broadway.
"The proposed condominium will be entirely out of place, towering far above its neighbours," Neufeldt wrote.
"It will have a serious detrimental effect on its environment, not only because of its totally incongruous appearance and the increase in population density and related traffi c that it will bring, but also because it will cast a shadow on a wide swath of the surrounding historic residential neighbourhood." It's "amazing and disturbing" the proposed development is even legal, Neufeldt added.
Jason Aebig, civics co-ordinator for the Nutana Community Association, also wrote to the city last month to protest the condo development. News of the project "has sparked considerable concern and debate in the surrounding community," prompting the association to set up a special meeting on Jan. 9 in the Nutana Collegiate library to discuss the current zoning on Broadway Avenue and its future implications.
"Residents in the area are concerned that a project of this scale and design may jeopardize the quaint and traditional character that has become Broadway's signature, and that it may be grossly out of scale relative to the homes bordering the Broadway strip," Aebig wrote.
Neither Aebig nor Neufeldt could be reached for further comment on Monday.
Miller -- who is himself a Nutana resident -- said he's aware of the concerns expressed by the heritage group and the community association.
"All they're concerned about, I think, at the end of the day, is that they just don't want to see the height -- and I guess they're welcome to their opinion, but I don't agree with it," he said.
The building's design drawings have not yet been shown to anyone outside the company and its architects, Miller said. He expects some detractors will change their minds once they see what it looks like. If all goes well, construction could start as early as next year -- although skyrocketing construction costs could delay it or even kill the project altogether, he said.
The company originally hoped to build a 17- or 18- storey building, but has now scaled it back to 12 storeys due to high construction costs, Miller said.
Meridian Developments already owns the site and has been working for more than a year on its design plans for the structure, which is expected to echo the look of similar developments in Vancouver. Miller said his business partner, Ken Achs of Mid-West Development Corporation, owns several properties in the Broadway area and would not be part of the project if he thought it would have a negative effect on their value. Achs has been praised for his past restorations of local heritage properties.
"All I can say is we spent a tremendous amount of time in the design process . . . and we think it's going to be a statement for Saskatoon," Miller said. "We're excited about it. We think it's going to add to the street.
It's going to bring Broadway one block further down, in our opinion. People don't really tend to walk that extra block, and we think people will now."
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Karl Miller
Those are the same people that are . . . complaining about urban sprawl and (saying that) our city is spreading out too far
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Karl, meet CAVE.
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... yes we can all pray that the MoB blows that outta the water. im crossing my fingers for lotsa blue glass
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