Divided council lets tower rise 16 storeys near Whyte Avenue
Edmonton city council passed zoning changes Wednesday to allow a 16-storey tower just south of Whyte Avenue, overruling advice from its professional planners and volunteer design committee.
After the motion passed 9-3, Coun. Ben Henderson railed at his colleagues for also ignoring a neighbourhood plan yet again. “If we do this as a one-off, I do not understand the purpose of doing (area redevelopment plans) at all.”
Edmonton is just starting to review the area redevelopment plan for Old Strathcona, which was last approved in 1998. Several community members called on council to hold off approving The Mezzo tower until residents had a chance to weigh in on that plan.
The current plan limits height in the area to six storeys.
Councillors Andrew Knack and Scott McKeen also voted against the tower. Coun. Tony Caterina was absent on city business in the Northwest Territories.
Council needs to be concerned about setting a precedent, said McKeen. He said downtown’s vibrant sidewalk retail was destroyed by malls and towers.
“We mall’d our downtown. We completely changed the character of downtown, and that started with a precedent.”
Edmonton’s top planners said the podium, or first few floors, of the new tower is excellent. It has affordable townhouses on the side that fronts 81 Avenue, and small bays of commercial retail on the 105 Street side.
The architecture mimics the Edwardian features of the adjacent post office building with its brick and doorways set back from the street. The plan also has 29 units of affordable housing, including several three-bedroom suites designed for families.
Planner Peter Odinga said the reason administration opposed The Mezzo is because the tower is too high and too blocky. “It is not an issue of density at all. It does not fit in the scale and character of the area.”
Edmonton is still trying to understand how to do towers well, said chief planner Peter Ohm. Thin, tall towers or shorter towers will still let light down to the street. Other cities achieve high-density neighbourhoods using buildings with only eight or 10 storeys.
On the issue of precedent, Mayor Don Iveson said approving this tower should send a message to developers that if they want more height, they need to follow The Mezzo in giving exceptional design at the podium level, smaller retail bays and higher than expected amounts of affordable housing.
“If it’s a business as usual kind of development, don’t expect the same height,” Iveson said.
“At the street level, I think (The Mezzo) is actually going to enhance that historical feel and it’s going to bring a lot more people to the neighbourhood.”