The View | 76m | 23s | Westrich Pacific | Chris Dikeakos

[Momin]

Update: http://edmonton.skyrisecities.com/news/2017/04/city-holding-open-house-proposed-oliver-highrise

 

[Daveography]

Open house April 6. Really hits home how tight this space is and how much tower is proposed for it. Lots of concerns from neighbours. FAR is pretty high for the site, TBH, but I'm pretty neutral overall.

 

[archited]

I'm neutral, too. The Design is uninspired and the project seems to be wedged onto the site. Counter to that, I like to see high-rises downtown.

 

[quit]

Looks good to me in a very basic kind of way - definitely uninspired design. However, I would say it looks like your typical tower from Vancouver plopped into Edmonton. We don't have a lot like this yet, but this is what the new modern copy and paste seems to look like.

 

[seamusmcuffs]

It'll bring more residence to the core and that's what we need. It's pretty uninspired but at least it isn't offensive.

 

[quit]

It'll bring more residence to the core and that's what we need. It's pretty uninspired but at least it isn't offensive.

That's what they said in Vancouver when all the towers started going up 15 years ago. Now, they have an uninspired skyline.

 

[seamusmcuffs]

If it made our downtown as lively as Vancouver's I might even be OK with that...

 

[Daveography]

At the pace highrises get built in Edmonton, I doubt we'll ever see the kind of monoculture/monochromatic set of buildings like Vancouver's downtown peninsula has. Design styles, architecture, and materials will have more time to change and evolve in the time it takes our city to build upward.

 

[Momin]

Update: http://edmonton.skyrisecities.com/n...s-new-details-westrich-pacifics-grandin-tower

 

[Daveography]

EDC minutes from March 21:

B.1. Oliver – Grandin Tower Rezoning
Stantec - Om Joshi
9918 & 9922 - 111 Street NW
Sites legally described as:
Lots 62 and 63, Block 11, Plan NB

P. Spearey read the comments of the Development Planner.
MOVED: M. Figueira
MOTION OF: Support with conditions (administrative walk-on):
● Create defensible space and grade separation for the townhouses
● Consider additional landscaping on the north side
● Provide a more appropriate residential articulation of townhouse facades
● Provide clarity of setbacks and confirm that drawing appendices adhere to the setbacks outlined in the text
● Provide more appropriate urban landscaped space along the 111th Street frontage, consider hardscaping as opposed to artificial turf
● Identify potential off-site improvements as a part of density bonusing in DC zoning
● Consider the scale of the entrance lobby in relation to the townhouse volumes and adjacent neighbor to the south to strengthen the podium presence/scale as a uniform two story element
● Maintain transparency of balconies in order to reduce apparent massing of the overall structure

SECONDED: A. Rowe
CARRIED
FOR THE MOTION: C. Craig, D. Deshpande, M. Figueira, S. Kaznacheeva, A. Rowe, W. Sims

https://www.edmonton.ca/city_government/documents/EDCMinutesMarch21.pdf

 

[archited]

I have to say I agree with the EDC comments for this project.

 

[Daveography]

Rezoning goes to Council June 28:
http://sirepub.edmonton.ca/sirepub/mtgviewer.aspx?meetid=1833&doctype=AGENDA

Interestingly:

Position of Administration
Administration does not support this Bylaw.​

and:

The proposed zone would allow for a tall tower on a very small site, while not providing appropriate transitions to surrounding properties and the public realm. As such, it is an overdevelopment of the site that does not contribute to the livability of the Oliver neighbourhood.​

and:

Edmonton is attractive and compact - This Bylaw does not contribute to the goals of transforming Edmonton's urban form and improving Edmonton's livability because it is an overdevelopment of a small site that is not compatible with the dense, mature neighbourhood of Oliver​

Not often a major rezoning like this goes to council without admin support...

 

[archited]

I'm with the administration on this one. I do suspect that council will pass it, however.

 

[Daveography]

@archited Without admin support, I actually don't think it will. Another gentleman's bet?

 

[archited]

Sure, I'm game @Daveography -- I'll even go so far as to identify the "no votes" imho -- Mayor Iveson, Councillor Knack, Councillor Henderson, Councilor McKeen, and Councillor Oshry. All the rest, I believe, will vote for it.