Tower that would change river valley forever demands scrutiny
Once this gem of an area is altered, there is no turning back, write Andrea Wilhelm, Rocky Feroe, Virendra Gupta, Eric Gormley and Mike Cooper.
We have several concerns about the proposed Alldritt project east of the Shaw Conference Centre. The proposal involving selling river valley parkland to a private developer in a private deal along with what appears to be a promise to change major zoning bylaws seems to be ill-conceived.
Edmontonians may believe that the city sells its assets, especially its most prized assets, only through an open, public, transparent, deliberate and competitive process that entertains no private deals. In this case, they will be sorely mistaken. Apparently, the proposal’s supporters on city council see the proposed 80-storey structure as an iconic building that will finally put Edmonton on the world map. Therefore, all norms and timehonoured practices in such matters can be discarded.
Further, with the way and the speed with which this project is moving, the city seems to be mixing its vendor function (parkland sale) with that of its role as a regulator of development (rezoning parkland) — something that a well-governed city would take great pains to avoid in appearance and substance.
Two separate council meetings, one dealing with the sale of parkland and the other with rezoning parkland, cannot change the fact that the two meetings result from one and the same deal. If the land sale is turned down, meeting on rezoning will be unnecessary.
In terms of details, we have not seen any independent studies showing the impact on traffic, on neighbouring communities’ plans, river valley flora and fauna, shadows and light resulting from such a tall structure and the proposed commercial and retail activity.
The city has not held public consultations on the project in line with its policy on consultations for large projects. The feedback from the one consultation that the developer held with the help of city planning staff showed that citizens had lots of reservations and concerns about the proposal.
In this context, one cannot help but note that the city’s record in terms of managing large-scale developments — long delays in opening the LRT extension, south-side traffic nightmares on Calgary Trail until fixed at great cost to the taxpayer et cetera — does not engender confidence in its capacity to get these things right.
Imagine a scenario, where the traffic on the Grierson Hill Road builds to a point that this barely single lane road has to be expanded, what will the city do and who will pay for it? It is hard to believe the developer’s assertion that such a large complex with a hotel, retail shops and several hundred apartments will have no impact on traffic on Grierson Hill Road.
The very idea of selling river valley public parkland should not sit well with Edmontonians.
The site of the proposed complex, just east of the conference centre, is the only place in Edmonton’s downtown that offers a full, broad and uninhibited vista of the North Saskatchewan River valley.
The proposed large, shiny structure towering over everything in sight will invade the quiet, low-key and natural feel of the river valley. It will dominate and violate the valley like nothing else.
The river valley will be changed forever and there will be no turning back.
We agree commerce is important, but so are our heritage and the environment. The city has been lauded for its consultations with communities in developing the Quarters Plan. These communities have been looking forward to the Quarters Plan being realized.
However, the proposed project seriously undermines the Quarters Plan. By its dominance of the landscape, the new structure will kill other smaller-scale proposals that might have come forth otherwise.
The river valley is a unique gift of nature to the city. It is incumbent on us to preserve, protect and honour this rare and extraordinary heritage now and forever.