Height & Density

[Daveography]

Edmonton’s Whyte Avenue may experience a growth spurt in the coming years, but how much remains in question.

Talk of giving a facelift to the trendy district came to the city’s executive committee Tuesday and potential developers looking to be part of that work came with it. Presenters at Tuesday’s meeting said the goal is to increase density in the area without losing the walkable, patio-friendly feel.

“People are interested in renewing the street and we know what we really need to make it successful is a lot more walk-up traffic to support the local businesses there. We’ve heard that from the businesses over and over,” Mayor Don Iveson said. “One of the best ways to do that would be to add a few hundred, and ultimately a few thousand, more units of housing.”

Full Story (Edmonton Journal)

 

[Daveography]

Edmonton looking at new plan for Whyte Avenue's growth
Historic Whyte Avenue will be on the grow in the years ahead, but just how high its buildings will stretch is to be the subject of debate this year.

Council got an update Tuesday on work the city is doing to change development rules in Old Strathcona, just as two developers are looking at building mid-rise towers in the area.

West Oak Developments is planning a 16-storey tower on the northwest corner of 81 Avenue and 105 Street, which would have a podium meant to reflect the area’s heritage.

Another tower with a similar design is proposed for 81 Avenue 106 Street and from WAM Developments.

Karen Tabor with the Old Strathcona Foundation said the group understands the area is going to grow, but wants to protect what makes Whyte Avenue special.

Full Story (Metro Edmonton)

 

[bennessb]

Any predictions for how this will all shake out?

 

[Daveography]

@bennessb This council has been very very positive toward infill development, especially projects like this that are expected to inject more life into our densest neighbourhoods. My prediction is that this will pass.

 

[bennessb]

I'll be looking forward to it!

 

[Daveography]

It’s not a good time to be against lot-splitting and skinny homes, against duplexes and apartment highrises. It’s futile to resist one of the ascendant city-building notions of our time: densification.

You may hate the two skinny homes being built on the subdivided lot next to you. You may detest the new highrise that will block out the sun for part of the day. And you may even convince your ward councillor to fight against such redevelopment.

But it’s all in vain. With only a few exceptions, you’re not going to win this fight.

Council has become a single-minded, objection-rejecting densification machine. It’s approving new infill developments like never before. Even if the city’s own planning administrators argue against a project proceeding and refuse to give their stamp of approval, council will sometimes overrule them. It happened twice in recent months, with council voting in favour of the 16-storey Mezzo in Old Scona and just this week for the 45-story Emerald tower in Oliver.

Full Story (Edmonton Journal)

 

[Daveography]

Edmonton city council is considering new rules for developers who want to build towers taller than allowed under zoning restrictions.

City staff presented a report Thursday to executive committee, recommending a citywide framework. But while council voted to draft a policy, councillors were divided on what it would look like.

“It feels like we are stumbling in the dark when it comes to these large developments, where they’re asking for a lot of uplift,” Coun. Scott McKeen said of increased density.

He said the city should make “incremental” moves and wants to see a standard policy for developers. “When we approve a building like Emerald … that is disruptive to the market.”

Full Story (Edmonton Journal)

 

[Daveography]

Councillors to debate putting a price on highrise height
City councillors have set themselves up for a tense debate about whether or not to charge developers extra for tall buildings.

On Thursday, council voted to draft a policy that would put a price tag on extra floors for developers who want to build towers that are taller than the zoning allows, and use the money for community benefit.

The decision follows the approval of the controversial Emerald Tower last week.

The developer, Regency Development, offered $200,000 to the community league to compensate for the extra density. City staff, without a firm policy, said that wasn't enough.

"Was that enough? The problem is we don't know," said Coun. Scott McKeen, who supports the idea of a policy.

"I just want something that's fair."

Full Story (CBC Edmonton)

 

[Daveography]

I really liked this article, it hit on a lot of things I've had on my mind lately.

The battle over densification just got a lot more interesting.

It seems this fight is not just folks who want lot splitting and highrise apartments pitted against those who oppose such developments.

Former Vancouver mayor Sam Sullivan, now an MLA with the British Columbia Liberal party, says the densification fight is both class and generational warfare. It pits haves against have-nots, old against young, wealthy baby boom homeowners against millennials, poorer young people who hope to live in the city core, rather than commute from sprawling suburbs, but can’t afford to buy into these established areas.

Sullivan knows the fight well. As Vancouver’s mayor from 2005 to 2008, he faced stiff resistance from activist and empowered baby boomers when he tried to combat sprawl, rising greenhouse gas emissions, out-of-control housing prices and the development of prime farmland in the Vancouver area.

Full Story (Edmonton Journal)

 

[Daveography]

Edmonton’s changing skyline could require firefighters to use a different approach when responding to fires in the city’s tallest buildings.

With projects such as downtown’s 67-storey Stantec Tower underway and the 80-storey tower in The Quarters proposed, Edmonton Fire Rescue Services is looking at opportunities to improve its highrise response tactics.

“It’s quite a bit taller than what we’re used to in Edmonton and we just want to make sure we stay current and safe,” said deputy fire chief Keven Lefebvre, noting the fire department is already staffed and equipped to handle highrise fires.

http://edmontonjournal.com/news/loc...monton-firefighters-respond-to-highrise-fires

 

[Daveography]

Following council’s approval of plans for an 80-storey tower, Mayor Don Iveson says it’s time planners rethink how high buildings can go in Edmonton.

“I’m concerned we have no framework for height at all,” Iveson said Wednesday at a public hearing, where council approved Alldritt’s tower plans with a 7-5 vote. “I would have liked to see the tower inbound rather than at the crest (next to the river).”

He said Edmonton is dealing “a lot of one-offs” when it comes to approving towers.

“The applications just keep getting larger and lager in height,” he said. “There seems to be no limit with requests, and council doesn’t have a policy to look at rationale or evidence when authorizing heights.”

http://www.metronews.ca/news/edmonton/2017/04/26/edmonton-building-height-don-iveson-tower.html

 

[Daveography]

The sky's the limit: How Edmonton's skyline stacks up
Height limits have been in place in “probably every city in North America,” says a University of Alberta urban planning professor, and Edmonton could be in store for a new cap.

“There is some merit to it,” said Sandeep Agrawal during an interview Monday. “The benefit would be to preserve the River Valley views, but it would need to rationalize clearly with extensive public consultation.”

Height limits vary across Canada, and are based on scenery, light, or, as was the case in Edmonton, airspace safety.

For a long time the height of buildings in Edmonton's downtown were restricted so as to avoid interfering with the City Centre Airport, but with the facility long gone, the question stands: how high should Edmonton go?

http://www.metronews.ca/news/edmont...height-review-don-iveson-council-calgary.html

 

[Daveography]

Too many towers? Council grapples with looming question of how much is too much
Edmonton city council’s history of approving nearly every tower it sees is dangerous and unsustainable, two community leagues are warning as councillors sit down to review yet another request.

In the past nine years, council has only said no to one tower rezoning request. And even that, Grandin’s The View, was recently approved on the second attempt. But does council understand how approving that 23-storey building for one two-lot site is going to affect land values and developer demands in the rest of the downtown core, wonder leaders of the city’s two most population-dense neighbourhoods.

“Market demand is finite,” said Downtown Edmonton Community League president Chris Buyze. “There just isn’t any way all these towers are going to move forward.”

https://edmontonjournal.com/news/lo...with-looming-question-of-how-much-is-too-much

 

[archited]

I completely disagree with Chris Buyze. There is a strong movement in most cities away from the suburbs. Downtown is where its happenin' man! Architects and Planners with foresight chose downtown (with their clients) for public supported buildings like RAM, like the Arena, like MacEwan University. Housing, hotels, retail, restaurants and bars all follow. Unless you like mowing lawns, commuting, shoveling snow, swatting mosquitos, and crocheting on a Saturday night, then you want to be downtown. This transition in Edmonton is good for at least another decade before it starts to slow and even then it will be a temporary development respite.

 

[Daveography]

@archited You might be misunderstanding Chris; the argument isn't downtown vs. suburbs. At all. Chris is a downtown guy, 100%, without question. He is the president of the DECL after all.

The argument is whether or not there are such things as too much density, whether or not towers always constitute a good kind of density, whether continuing to permit towers way above what our planners have zoned for are actually having a negative effect on the market, on our goals to redevelop more vacant land, or are contributing to more land speculation and the problems that come with it.

These are all valid questions that we need to ask ourselves while we develop a new city plan and new zoning bylaw, and whenever Council and Administration has to look at so many DC2s like they have in recent years.