Army & Navy Redevelopment | ?m | 6s | Edgar

What do you think of this project?

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Grandinite said:
Is the Army & Navy building not historic though? Why is it ok to tear this one down but not the When Pigs Fly Building (historic designation or not)?
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Oh, don’t get me wrong, I’ll lament the loss of the old Army & Navy. It was the last of Edmonton’s original department stores to have been still operating in its original location, it’s reflective of the Southside’s growth in the post-Second World War years, and it’s a decent, if not exactly standout, example of mid-Twentieth Century commercial architecture. It’s all important for those reasons and in a perfect heritage-lovers world would be saved — the current building has footings designed for a second storey so...?

But, the story of the Army & Navy and its presence in Edmonton is preserved more prominently elsewhere. While arguments like that can be a slippery slope and I don’t generally like to use them, I think it’s fair to say that the building most people associate with the brand is the old Great Western Garment factory on 97th Street. It was their flagship for over fifty years and it more properly relates the story of the company and its place in the city’s collective memory. Meanwhile, as I said in the Baron thread, the Archibald Block is one of the oldest buildings on the avenue, is indicative of the original small-scale form of the avenue, and is tied to the prominent Strathconaite who built it, Dr. Seymour Archibald, one of the province’s first professional doctors, who’s story isn’t protected elsewhere. I’m also sure among most (but not me), that the Archibald is considered more ‘worthy’ of preservation because it’s an Edwardian styled building — “keeping the ‘old’ in Old Strathcona” and all that.
 
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^Mid-to-late 1949. It opened to the public on July 28th, 1950:
Edmonton_Journal_Sat__Jul_29__1950_ (2).jpg
 
^I'll echo that: "what height??"

Now, this is all rough guesstimations based off a rendering and some Google Streetviewing, but if you're to compare the height of the new addition to the old Royal Bank Building on the corner, then use that as a reference to the height of other extant buildings on the Whyte, there's not much of a difference. To me it looks like this wouldn't be more than a half, to three-quarters floor taller than the Tipton or Hulbert, or Richards or Douglas Blocks nearby, all of which are about three-and-a-half storeys, plus parapets. And that's without even mentioning that on the same block the Raymond Block was just built which is way bigger than this would ever be.

Honestly, it just screams of a flimsy excuse looking to justify something they don't want.
 
IanO said:
Sounds like the community league was in opposition last night due to issues with 'height'...
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I think folks in the area are deathly afraid of giving an inch and having a mile being taken, mixed in with a bit of resentment over the Southpark bait-and-switch.
 
IanO said:
One of the neat things about this project is that the owner of A&N is an equity partner.
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I believe they are planning similar arrangements for some of the other recently closed locations. I recall there being chatter around it when they closed the Vancouver Army & Navys - they had some pretty prime land in Downtown Van.
 
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