Fire station with supportive housing? Edmonton councillors support unique project
A plan to combine a new fire hall with 64 units of supportive housing in southeast Edmonton received an early thumbs up from councillors Tuesday.
The Walker Fire Station was originally planned to be a standalone building on Ellerslie Road and Watt Boulevard SW, but a city committee unanimously approved the redesign to include affordable housing above the fire hall.
"I think we need to look at all the opportunities and options that are available for us to create more supportive, permanent supportive housing as well as affordable housing," Mayor Amarjeet Sohi said after the vote.
The change will increase the cost of the project from $24.5 million to $55.7 million.
The plans still need approval from council and setting aside money for it will be part of budget discussion in the fall.
City administrators looked at other projects in Calgary, Vancouver and in the United States and concluded that the concept "has a high likelihood of success."
A recent survey found there are at least 2,800 people without shelter in Edmonton.
The project could be completed as soon as 2027, and would include space for EMS as well.
Mayor Amarjeet Sohi and Councillors Tim Cartmell, Michael Janz, Keren Tang and Jo-Anne Wright all voted in favour of moving the plan forward.
With files from CTV News Edmonton's Jeremy Thompson
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.