^
it's not a bad thread for it but there are at least three stories here...
moving forward on these parcels, they are two separate development parcels, the paskin site which is north of 106th avenue and the laydown site south of 106th avenue. while not specifically identified, the parcel east of the lane on the east side of paskin site is also a future development opportunity.
as noted in the edmonton heritage council editorial, the ring houses were slated for demolition years ago by the u of a. that would be the end of their first story - the same fate that was imposed on the first 6 ring houses.
also as noted in the edmonton heritage council editorial, primavera acquired the remaining ring houses and two east campus village houses last year and announced at that time that they would be relocated and that relocation might well require their deconstruction "brick by brick". they were not acquired "in situ" as there are no underlying separate lots or titles for the ring houses - we literally acquired the bricks and mortar only so removing them is the only option we have if they were not to become land fill.
we acquired the paskin parcel earlier this summer after working with the edmonton community development company and our consultants and contractors since early this year on the feasibility of the site for our intended use - a permanent home for the edmonton sculpture project (
https://www.roydenmills.com/edmonton-sculpture-project ), a cafe, a gallery or retail spaces, a day care, studio spaces, artist in residence living quarters, ceremonial spaces, public art spaces etc.
even if the houses could be moved in segments (ring house 1 weighs more than 110 tons and is too tall to fit under bridges or traffic signals or lrt catenaries etc.), as soon as they are no longer in situ, they lose all of their grandfathering and would need to be brought up to current code criteria in order to be re-occupied, something that would likely require their deconstruction/reconstruction even after being moved.
the following is what we currently have in mind for the project noting that it is a massing model with some colour, not a detailed architectural rendering and some of the components are still placemaking elements. you can, however, clearly see the outline of the four ring houses, particularly on the main and second floor plans. while they will be reconstructed as part of something larger and not as individual structures, both from the interior and the exterior those components that will be reconstructed will be clearly recognizable as ring house components (the outlines are from a detailed photo-survey record of the homes).
we have never referred to our plans as being a heritage project but always as a second story for the ring houses. they have deep connections to edmonton as will as to the u of a and they have housed art galleries and day cares and numerous other uses over the years that formed part of those connections. many of them will continue and be broadened in their new iterations. regardless of whether you think this is the "best story" or not for the ring houses going forward, it is the only story we can tell and we hope to good job in the telling.