Creating a new transit-oriented community
High Pointe at Clareview to include more than 840 residential housing units
A vacant plot of land in northeast Edmonton is getting a new lease on life.
Twenty-seven acres of developable land, off Manning Drive and 144th Avenue N.W. and with direct access to the Clareview LRT station, is being transformed in the city’s newest neighbourhood, High Pointe at Clareview.
“We’re very thrilled and privileged to unlock this new land opportunity in a transit oriented development setting,” said Jesse Lafrance, president of JL Developments, High Pointe’s developer. “The trickle-down effect of High Pointe is that it will have a tremendous impact on LRT ridership and it will encourage the urbanization of north Edmonton, and we’re excited to play a small role in that.”
The land has sat vacant for more than 15 years, said Lafrance.
“It’s one of the largest tracts of contiguous urban land within the Anthony Henday,” said Lafrance. “From our perspective, with it being located on the northern terminus of the Capital Line LRT, that’s what really sets this development apart from others.”
More developments like High Pointe at Clareview will allow for the long-term use of the LRT infrastructure currently in place, added Jandip Deol, principal, multi-family for Avison Young.
High Pointe will include a collection of boutique urban townhomes, low- to mid-rise apartments, and neighbourhood commercial. More than 840 residential housing units are planned for the site.
“When we first looked at High Pointe, we spent a lot of time and effort visiting other larger municipalities where they had success with transit oriented development, predominately Toronto and Vancouver, and these urban villages really create a hub in the core of their location,” said Lafrance.
“When we build these larger urban centres we want to ensure they’re highly walkable. When you have a development as accessible as ours, meaning it’s within walking distance to an LRT station and walking distance to several commercial and recreational hubs, we believe it provides a unique opportunity where you can leave your car at home on the weekend or, in fact, you may not need to own a car.”
High Pointe is envisioned with narrower streets, channelization islands and tree-lined boulevards along with shared use pathways.
“The community will offer unparalleled amenities along with LRT access and will give residents of north central Edmonton new rental housing options,” said Deol. “The park feature on site, along with some of the higher end features JL Developments is introducing on site, is attracting some of the most experienced builders from across the country. These groups have a ton of experience building rental buildings, which will bring cutting-edge rental projects to this community.”
There have been no new rental buildings in a 10-kilometre radius of the site, added Deol, which he says shows the need.
“Moreover, there are retail amenities (all major big box retailers are located in Manning Crossing and Clareview Town Centre), recreation and park facilities (Clareview Recreation Centre) and green spaces/walking paths that builders absolutely love to see when acquiring land,” said Deol. “For this reason, we have seen tremendous interest in the serviced land parcels.”
As to the emphasis on rental apartments as opposed to condominiums, Deol noted that this is what the market is calling for.
“In my experience, I have yet to see builders start to talk about building condominiums,” said Deol. “This has been the trend for the last number of years. Although all of it will most likely be rental, we will see different housing options, such as townhomes and apartment units.”
High Pointe grading started several months ago and the plan is to begin servicing later this summer with residential construction underway in the spring of 2023.
The community will offer unparalleled amenities along with LRT access and will give ... new rental housing options.