The Baron | Whyte Avenue – 105 Street
Strathcona Community League opposes this development for the following reasons.
We recognize that the project has some merits, particularly as a precedent settinging use of mass timber. However, the proposed 9-11 (tbd) storey building itself is ill-suited to this site for a variety of reasons, but the most critical issue is that currently this site is part of the DC1 zoning that protects the heritage core of old Strathcona. The intent of this zoning is to put strict controls on the forms of development that can happen in this area, with greater scrutiny of proposals than is typical elsewhere in the city. All the other recent developments that have happened in this area (Crawford Block, Strathcona hotel, Raymond Block, etc.) have been zoned as “sub-zones” within this DC1 heritage zone.
This development would remove this site from the DC1 zoning, making it instead a DC2. It carves out a chunk of our heritage protected zone for the sake of bypassing the controls that come with it. The approval for the Raymond Block, which did not follow ARP/Plan Whyte, was expressly understood as not setting precedent for future rezoning applications. All of this would have been known at the time that the developer purchased this property. The question is: do the protections offered by the CoE DC1 zoning mean anything?
The proposed rezoning and development concept (height, form, massing etc…) is also contrary to the recommendations of Plan Whyte (as included in the Strathcona ARP), which aims to strengthen the heritage character of the corridor. The heritage character of the area, and along Whyte Avenue itself will be further eroded.
The Archibald Block is in the heart of the Provincial Heritage Area which the City of Edmonton requested and committed to providing stewardship to preserve the area. It is not apparent how this application strengthens the historic identity of the area. The Archibald Block is on the Inventory of Municipal Heritage Resources. It is one of the relatively few resources in Edmonton that connects the story of Edmonton’s early Lebanese Muslim and its important contributions to the community and in northern Alberta.
The online public engagement process is now open for feedback. Please provide your feedback as well as write to city councillors to ensure we do not lose this important historically dedicated resource.
More information about The Baron:
https://www.edmonton.ca/residential_neighbourhoods/neighbourhoods/8207-105-street-nw.aspx