Hospitality company Scandinave Group Inc. wants to build a Nordic spa on property currently owned by the University of Alberta trust, perched atop of North Saskatchewan River banks.
The plan is one step closer to reality after, Edmonton city council approved the rezoning of the 10.5-acre piece of land in the south Edmonton neighbourhood of Brander Gardens, just west of Whitemud Drive near 53rd Avenue on Monday.
The large gated lot called Soaring Lands was bequeathed to the U of A in 2010 by the late Sandy Mactaggart and his wife Cecile.
Mactaggart was one of the owners of Maclab Enterprises – a land development company responsible for much of the residential construction in Edmonton after 1949.
However, the university found the grand mansion built in the 1950s could not support its teaching or research mandate so a decision was made to decommission the house and clear the site for future real estate development.
On Monday at city hall, the biggest point of contention between the two sides for and against the spa, especially those that oppose it, was the top of the river bank and the land below.
Specifically, how it would be used and whether area residents would still have access to a walking path in the area. There were also concerns about protecting the ecosystem.
City councillor Tim Cartmell said he believed the spa proposal could be the best option for that land use, compared to allowing more housing on the site.
“A residential development with, you know, a number of homes or a number of multi-unit residential buildings — it’s unlikely that as many trees and as much of the natural setting is going to be retained,” Cartmell said.
Local tourism promoter Explore Edmonton said the spa would be a unique asset to the city.
“The people who are coming in to stay and experience this wellness centre are also potentially going to be staying at hotels, visiting restaurants, participating in local shopping,” said Melissa Radu with Explore Edmonton
“So we really want to take a look at the bigger picture and understand that economic opportunity.”
Scandinave Group Inc. has four Nordic spas in Canada: two in Quebec in Mont-Tremblant and Montreal, another north of Toronto near Collingwood, Ont. on the shore of Lake Huron, and one in the B.C. resort community of Whistler.
In order for the land sale from the university to Scandinave Group Inc. to go through, the developer listed land rezoning as a condition. Now that it’s been approved, the developer can apply for building permits and start planning for construction.
It’s not the first time someone has tried to build a Nordic spa in Edmonton. In 2019, two concepts were floated in the region.
A group of entrepreneurs proposed an indoor-outdoor spa concept to be built near Fort Edmonton Park, but it never came to fruition after the Fort Edmonton Management Co. and the Edmonton Nordic Spa group said it had “dissolved their partnership.”
Also in 2019, Quebec company Groupe Nordik, which already has Nordic spas in several Canadian cities, announced plans for a $50-million spa west of Edmonton in Parkland County. The facility never ended up being built.