Edmonton hospitality company drops bid for ‘mega bar’ on 104 Street

The ownership group that applied to the city to open a large bar on 104 Street said Wednesday it has decided to drop its appeal of a decision by Edmonton City Council to reject its application.

“After meeting with community groups and other stakeholders, it’s clear a 350-seat pub is not wanted in that location,” Brendan Crooks, a senior manager with Urban Sparq Hospitality Group, said in a statement.

In a tweet Tuesday, the Downtown Edmonton Community League (DECL) said a representative from Urban Sparq informed them of the decision not to pursue the development any further.

The DECL, along with a number of civic politicians and vocal area residents, had expressed concern over Urban Sparq’s request to go above the occupancy limit the area is currently zoned for.

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READ MORE: Large bar proposed for 104 Street will have lower capacity than first reported: owners

“I think a healthy downtown has different districts which have different experiences,” Coun. Scott McKeen said in response to the development Wednesday. “That 104 Street area is kind of small scale retail, restaurant coffee shops and lots of residential around it.

“To put a huge sort of bar in there seemed to fly in the face of everything that had – all the work that had been done by the city, business community, the residences to create this sort of cosmopolitan street.”

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While the area is zoned for pubs with a maximum occupancy load of 100 or less, city administrators have the discretionary power to approve or reject any proposals for larger-occupancy developments. Urban Sparq -which operates other popular watering holes including The Pint Public House and Knoxville’s Tavern – had been seeking a code occupancy load for 600 people, which the group said would have a maximum capacity of 400.

READ MORE: Controversial 600-person pub proposed for downtown Edmonton

Watch below: On July 10, 2016, Julia Wong filed this report after the 104 Street Committee spoke out over a proposed 600-person occupancy bar proposed for 104 Street. 

2:13 Residents, businesses speak out about controversial mega-bar development in downtown Edmonton

“We have to ensure ourselves I think, that as a commitment to the community, that someone can’t come along in an area zoned for 100 seats and have a mega bar,” McKeen added.

“Our intent was to offer a high-end pub experience for the growing number of people visiting downtown and for downtown residents,” Crooks said.

“It is disappointing that this kind of pub is not welcome two blocks from the new Rogers arena and the Ice District.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "It is disappointing that this kind of pub is not welcome two blocks from the new Rogers arena and the Ice District."

Urban Sparq has also applied for a development permit for a live music venue able to hold up to 1,400 people on 109 Street and 102 Avenue. In July, Urban Sparq told told Global News the 1,400 number was the code occupancy load and that it isn’t yet clear how many people the venue would actually hold after design plans are implemented.