LDA23-0057 Griesbach Battalion Square

I think the 6 storey buildings that are requested to be built in this area will make this area too dense. There are already 2 large dense apartment building behind this site by the palik bazaar strip. Trying to extremely maximize space like this makes the neighbourhood feel claustrophobic and undesirable. The high density planned for the northwest region of griesbach is also too dense compared to the existing layout. This is worrisome and off putting. Many people are finding homes elsewhere. We would like to keep griesbach a lovely desirable place to live, love and play.

This area is already too congested & roads are super narrow in that bend on Sir Arthur already causing issues for the neighborhood traffic. Adding this mammoth of a building will just make it worse. Hard Pass

I am very concerned that the area will become far too congested with traffic with a 6 storey. Not to mention the disadvantage this building would put on the families who just invested in new homes immediately next to and behind this potential building.

This should not be allowed to be re zoned when we purchased our home the intention was not have an additional amount of multi family homes and a commercial site. The developer is in bed with some of the city staff I was told and this will be pushed through regardless and if it is I will be suing the developer and the city of Edmonton for loss of property value l.

This is such a great project right in the centre of Griesbach. Love the mixed use concept and love the prospect that a grocer might be coming into the Griesbach community … unlike what was promised worth the Sobey’s lot in the southeast corner. Beljan is a GREAT developer who revitalizes dilapidated assets and looking forward to having them take on this project. No objections from me and a great benefit to the community.

I originally was drawn to this neighbourhood because it was a master planned, mixed usage. Lately Canada Lands keeps on changing its approach and care for the neighbourhood, and more just wanting to get cash quick. They’ve stopped caring about the “architectural design”, and stopped caring about how they’re actually planning it. There is already so many condo buildings going in, and this is just adding more to streets that are already busy, and safety is already a risk here. This neighbourhood wasn’t planned for all of this, and never sold on this was the vision.

I'm excited for this new development... with a grocer yes please.

What are you planning to do about the increased traffic, including speeding that will occur? Our neighbourhood is already full of teenagers who speed through here while visiting. This will just add more.

I don’t agree with the plan. I live on sir Arthur Currie way and the amount of development being done without any consideration for the volume of people that will be in the area is bothersome. There is only two possible exits from Greisbach in this area and it’s concerning that there will be an excessive amount of traffic. The neighborhood is quiet and it’s being overdeveloped without any consideration for current home owners.

A well-designed midrise that will provide a high quality community amenity and residents.

This development also provides opportunities for non-residential uses for nearby homes which might otherwise be required to travel much farther for basic services or small shopping trips. Bus route 126 provides very fast access to Northgate and Castle Downs TCs only a short walk away for residents here. With close access to local services on the ground floor and transit nearby, this development could help enable neighbourhood residents to live car-free.

Our family lives right across the street from this project and we do not approve it. This will create too much traffic and noise pollution in this quiet part of the neighborhood that was not design for that type of project. We bought our house in this area as it was promoted as a calm and family friendly environment. We are really frustrated and disappointed by the developer. The original planned townhouses was a perfect balance with the detached houses and still provided higher density in this family and calm neighborhood. We are completely against this.

It is with great disappointment that we voice our disapproval of this project. The recent news about the rezoning plans has taken both my family and our neighbours by surprise. While we were glad that the training center would not be demolished, we were not anticipating the construction of a six-story building in close proximity to our homes. A 23-meter structure would be incompatible with the existing character of the neighbourhood. Upon purchasing our property, we were informed that three-story townhouses would be built, which we found acceptable. Even a three-story apartment building would be palatable; however, a six-story structure would be grossly out of scale with the surrounding area. With numerous apartment complexes already under construction, it is perplexing as to why another is needed, particularly adjacent to single-family residences. The main reason why this project is a bad idea is that the proposed development is overly ambitious for such a confined space. This will undoubtfully create traffic on our street that was not built for as many cars. This area is not adapted for such a project.



Additionally, we are apprehensive about the fate of the training center. While we are not opposed to the introduction of retail spaces within the facility, it is unclear how viable such businesses would be. Griesbach currently hosts numerous vacant commercial properties, raising doubts about the potential success of these new establishments.

Rather than envisioning the building as a hub for community gatherings, it appears to be transforming into a commercial complex accompanied by apartments. The city's decision to alter the zoning in this area is deeply disheartening. Had we been aware of these plans, my husband and I would have refrained from purchasing a home in close proximity to a towering apartment building. The city's actions feel like a betrayal of trust, leaving us feeling undervalued and disrespected.

I am a registered Landscape Architect in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Québec and have been involved in land development and community building and planning for over 22 years. I've also been involved in design and implementation work in Griesbach and the firm I am employed with designed the Bedford Basin lookout (HMCS Edmonton), Roundel Lake, the newly built Maple Leaf Pond, Griesbach Central Park and Community Gardens, and other open spaces in the neighbourhood. As a resident of Griesbach and a Landscape Architect, I am strongly opposed to the rezoning application for the following reasons:
1. Having two 23 meter/6 storey high towers situated on the south-east corner of the site, immediately adjacent to single family houses will result in the overall building mass overwhelming the rest of the neighbourhood due to its size, thus destroying the character of the neighbouring streets. The proposed height is disproportionate to the area and will not reflect the surrounding character of the neighbourhood.
2. Most, if not all, multi-family buildings of this type in Griesbach (4 storeys or more) are located on collector roads with a minimum front setback offering a street presence. In the case of this re-zoning application, these towers are located at the furthest point away from Sir Arthur Currie Way; the area fronting on the Sir Arthur Currie Way collector would be occupied by a hard surface parking lot. There is no logical reason not to have a proposed building(s) fronting directly onto the collector road, like all others. In addition, hard surface parking stalls are proposed around the entire periphery of the site as well as a hard surface "plaza". All of these propositions do not reflect and probably go against the City of Edmonton policies such as the Complete Street Guidelines, the City's Breathe initiative or the increase urban forest and canopy initiative, etc. Instead, we are faced with a potential heat island effect in the middle of a new neighbourhood.
3. The designation of the old Griesbach gymnasium (formerly the interim EPS training centre) as a heritage site is misleading at best, in my opinion. Buildings with greater historical or heritage significance, such as the officers mess or the old Griesbach school should have been designated as such, yet have been demolished. In the case of the gymnasium, the numerous modifications proposed for it will result in it being a completely different building with hardly any, if at all, resemblance to its former character and/or any significant historical or heritage designation. The site of the former gymnasium would be better suited as the location of the multi-family building, rather than on the south-east corner of the lot.
4. Without exception, all commercial establishments in Griesbach are located next to arterial roads. The proposition for a mixed-use development and/or ground floor commercial units in this location, next to a collector road does not make sense. Not only will it require more surface parking (as mentioned in my second point) but it will invariably increase vehicular traffic in local streets and on Sir Arthur Currie Way. There are already existing or proposed commercial areas within a 1.5 km radius of 2775 Sir Arthur Currie Way; at the corner of Ad Astra Blvd and Castle Downs road (400 meters away), the soon to be completed commercial site at the corner of Admiral Girouard and 137 Avenue (500 meters away) and Griesbach Village at the corner of 97 street and 137 Avenue (1.4 Km away). All of these are located within a 5 minute walk or a short drive away from 2775 Sir Arthur Curie Way. Furthermore, there are several storefronts in Griesbach Village that have yet to be leased and have been sitting empty for quire some time. I cannot imagine why the proposed commercial units proposed in the re-zoning application would be more successful.
In conclusion, I would hope that the re-zoning application in its present form is rejected and is replaced with one that aligns with the vision that Canada Lands and the City of Edmonton have for this neighbourhood.

I believe the height of the housing building (6 storeys) is way too high for a residential area like Greisbach. It would stand out like a sore thumb and block a lot of homes' views. I believe a 4-storey height would be much more reasonable.

As a homeowner directly south of this property, I highly disagree with the proposed six-storey building development. I appreciate the effort to preserve and maintain the training facility, however, similar to many thoughts expressed below, the six-storey proposal would be an eyesore, and dwarf existing single dwellings in its immediate vicinity. There are plenty of medium-density residential buildings currently being raised along Ad Astra Boulevard. I see the benefit to those as the future calls for an LRT station alongside Castledowns Road. Because a school is already planned right next to the property in question, raising a six-storey building will create even more congestion along 109 Street. I sincerely hope the City takes the thoughts of Griesbach residents seriously when reviewing this application.

I am opposed to this development. This will create a traffic burden as no study has been completed.
There is not enough parking for the building which will cause people to park in the residential areas. This traffic congestion is dangerous to the neighbourhood children that reside and play there.
The existing building is full of dangerous asbestos and it all should be removed.
Canada Lands should be held accountable because the rendering is not even an accurate depiction of the proposed facility.
I am extremely disappointed that Canada lands is creating neighbourhood with dangerous traffic volumes based on the size and occupancy of this facility.

In the vicinity there is already a high density complex (to the NE). It is an unfair move from the city and developers to drop this complex in the middle of a high-end and [previously] high-priced location AFTER the single units have been mostly sold and filled in. Dropping a complex in there at the end of the development cycle will surely unduly decrease the value of those homes. A more fair approach would have been to be either upfront about these plans OR to build these high density complexes before the sale of the individual units.

The picture is 100% deceptive. There is absolutely no way that there is enough space there for all that is displayed on the picture. Having walked around on the proposed lot, it is hardly big enough for 2-3 modest size single family homes.

As a local resident that will be across the street from this 6 story complex, I can't begin to express my disappointment that this would even be considered in this small space. Parking is going to overflow on every street creating issues and problems. I would request a traffic study to be done, as the current streets would not support the size of the proposed structure. This building would tower over all adjacent buildings, and there are much more appropriate streets in Griesbach that would support such a building.
We would NOT have built our home in Griesbach knowing such a structure would even be proposed. This to me is an ill-informed build which will negatively impact the current homeowners around.

As someone who lives very close to the proposed development. I’m extremely disappointed that this has come up after I purchased my property under the understanding that there would not be a 6 story building beside my house.
I think the idea to drop a large building in the middle of a quiet residential area is going to upset the quiet community. The infrastructure of the surrounding area is also not suited for a large commercial area. Roads are single lane and an influx of commercial traffic is going to cause headaches and traffic issues.

I think it would be extremely disappointing if the city moved forward with this plan in this location. This zoning is better suited for down the street along Ad Astra Blvd, as there is already condos and commercial buildings along that street.

Please contact me if you have any questions about my response. I would like to hear the reasoning behind the sudden change of development.