EDMONTON - The first public consultations start next month on the City Centre Airport redevelopment, a project described Wednesday as “unique in Canadian history.”
Vancouver’s Perkins and Will architectural firm was chosen in June to come up with a master plan over the next 15 months for transforming the 217-hectare site into a sustainable neighbourhood for 30,000 people.
“It’s the largest public-sector urban development competition ever held in Canada,” Vancouver managing director Peter Busby told a news conference. “This is unique in Canadian history.”
The firm has already spoken to adjoining NAIT about the potential for expanding on to the airport land, and the school seems interested, he said.
“They want to grow their physical education facilities, they want to grow their research facilities, their teaching facilities and job-training facilities, they want a new library … there are many opportunities for integration.”
This will be one source for the 10,000 jobs expected to be based in the area.
If those workers choose to live there as expected, that would reduce commuting and help make the district carbon neutral, although the northwest LRT will go through the property.
The community will use geothermal and other forms of renewable energy, treating sewage on-site and perhaps capturing the gas for fuel.
The firm’s proposals also include a large stormwater recreational lake on the north side surrounded by a park with a seven-storey-tall hill, made from the dirt excavated for the lake.
All the residents would live in multi-unit buildings rather than detached homes to create enough population to pay for these amenities.
But that doesn’t mean houses will be costly, Busby said.
“Those houses and those working places will be no more expensive than anywhere else in the city, because they won’t sell if we don’t make them affordable.”
Although redevelopments are planned for the Quarters and the arena district downtown, Perkins and Will architect Joyce Drohan said they’ll appeal to different buyers and shouldn’t compete with the airport project.
The site will be designed so at least 20 per cent of residents are families, she said.
The firm, which is being paid $3.5 million, met for the first time this week with a stakeholder committee of surrounding residents and businesses that will provide ideas and feedback on the plans.
Coun. Kim Krushell, who chairs the committee, said members have so far asked to respect the area’s long aviation history, wanted to know if the Alberta Aviation Museum could be expanded and inquired how they’d access the park.
There will be other one-on-one meetings with seniors, aboriginals and many other interested groups, she said.
The first public consultations are set for Oct. 10-14, although times and locations haven’t been announced, while two more public events scheduled in January and March.
Construction, probably roads and the park, is expected to get underway in summer 2014.
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