31-storey mixed-use tower to be built on Jasper Avenue, 100 Avenue

The parking lot on which developers plan to build a 31-storey high rise at 12021 Jasper Avenue. (Source: Jasper House GP Inc.)

A developer has been given the first necessary green light to turn a parking lot with views of the North Saskatchewan River valley and Victoria Promenade in downtown Edmonton into a high-rise tower. 

City council on Tuesday approved the rezoning of 12021 Jasper Avenue, which currently hosts the 12-storey apartment building Jasper House and its surface parking lot.

Jasper House GP Inc. applied to have the site rezoned so that it could replace the parking lot on the west side of the site with a 31-storey mixed-use tower with underground parking for both buildings, a design made possible by the city eliminating parking minimums in 2020. 

The future tower, so far unnamed, will feature about 28 residential stories – with one three-bedroom unit per floor – plus a podium of commercial and retail spaces.

"There's kind of the business in the front, leisure in the back, design aesthetic going on," said Chelsey Jersak, founder of Situate, the consulting firm who presented to city council on behalf of Jasper House GP Inc.

In an interview on Wednesday, she told CTV News Edmonton, "People with children, et cetera, will be able to potentially find a space there, so that's something that we think is really unique and we're excited about." 

Speaking of a cut out on the southeast corner of the building where she imagines outdoor seating, Jersak added, "We're hoping that they will find a great cafe tenant that will want to go in there and that can be a gathering place or a focal point for the community, or for folks that are walking along the promenade to be able to sit and relax and chat over a coffee and at a really great location." 

While some neighbourhood residents during public engagement initiatives expressed support for the project because it would make better use of the land, about two thirds of feedback was critical of its height, potential traffic impacts, and construction disruptions. 

"By allowing the rezoning and high rise, you're disrupting the lives of those who have already invested in the community. The increased traffic and congestion in an area already facing reduced laneways due to the promenade and Imagine Jasper projects, the shading that will blanket an entire block on either side, and the loss of use that many residents cherish are not trivial matters," one resident told councillors on Tuesday. 

Another said, "This morning, I was caught in that lane for nine minutes while I waited for the garbage truck to load each building as it goes down the laneway. This is going to be such a difficult navigation area, I can't even begin to imagine how we can look at a tower that's that high."

These matters were one of the greatest challenges in designing the high rise, Jersak told CTV News Edmonton. 

"What's unique about the site is that it doesn't have a back alley or doesn't have a lane that services it, so it has basically three front yards," she said. 

The developer and designer TBD Architecture, working with the city's administration, settled on keeping the lot's access to both Jasper Avenue for waste services for Jasper House and 100 Avenue for vehicular access and waste services for the high rise. 

With a footprint of 825 square metres, the future tower will be separated from Jasper House by just 13 metres. Zoning bylaw requires a minimum of 25 metres of separation, but Situate told council that wind studies confirmed the high rise would not create a wind tunnel nor affect pedestrians on any side.

On the east side, units below the 12th floor – situated directly across from the residents in Jasper House – will not have balconies for better privacy.  

And the footprint, which falls under the "slim" category, will help prevent obstruction of views and sunlight for surrounding neighbours, councillors were told. 

Administration recommended council support the rezoning because the project supports the city's goals for high density where transit and other services are readily available, infill, and tall buildings in the area. 

Four councillors voted against it – Sarah Hamilton, Aaron Paquette, Jennifer Rice and Tim Cartmell – with some wishing more work had been done to alleviate neighbourhood concerns. 

Hamilton, referring to criticism about the high rise's proposed profile and aesthetic, also noted that city council hasn't really "had the skyline conversation and the interest of council not just in land use, but how our city is defined through the skyline."  

Mayor Amarjeet Sohi supported the project.

"I supported the rezoning because we want to create more density. We want to control urban sprawl. We want to create opportunities for people to utilize the existing infrastructure that we have," he told reporters on Wednesday. "Jasper Avenue and 121 Street have good access to bus service. There are a lot of amenities in the community."

Ward papastew Coun. Micheal Janz also voted in favour.

"We're in a housing emergency in Edmonton. The housing crisis is the number one issue across Canada," he said. "And if we won't legalize apartment buildings downtown, in an area where there's lots of services, lots of existing apartment buildings, we're going to be in big trouble as a country."

The project will go back to the design committee as a next step. As it progresses, the public will continue to be engaged, Jersak said. 

This area of Edmonton is also home to the 36-storey The Pearl and 32-storey The Citizen, which are 119 metres and 114 metres tall, respectively. Their footprints are 670 square metres and 850 square metres, respectively. The proposed high rise could be a maximum of 108 metres tall. 

With files from CTV News Edmonton's Dave Ewasuk