It could be an intense public hearing at Edmonton City Hall on Monday as some residents in the Glenora neighbourhood say they have concerns about a small-scale commercial development proposed to be built near a planned LRT station at 104 Avenue and 134 Street.
Global News reached out to the Glenora Community League for comment, but the association say it is not weighing in on the issue as it’s become a heated topic and has divided residents.
Marie Gordon lives in Glenora and said those living a few blocks away from the proposed project might be in favour of it, but for those living next door, it’s not wanted.
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“I actually haven’t talked to one person who supports this development, and I talked to a lot of people,” Gordon said.
“We should not lose this lot to commercial and retail use,” she added.
Otto Capital founder Dan Belostotsky is the developer behind the proposed project. To move forward, the lot needs to be rezoned to allow for building. City planners have said they are in full support of the application because of the location, and because they say the design is sensitive to the surrounding commercial and residential buildings.
A city report also said traffic impacts to the area will be minor because of the size of the neighbourhood and the variety of transportation modes.
Since there has been some pushback, the proposed building has been scaled down to two storeys and there has been parking added in the plans for the tenants of the building.
Belostotsky said he feels this is the right fit for the lot.
“It’s a very unique property,” he said. “This property is literally across the street from an LRT stop.
“To say this property should remain a single-family use, or perhaps even multi-unit, is probably not the most appropriate thing to have in front of an LRT station.
“The main focus is retail and we hope to provide the best retail we can for the community,” he added. “There’s been a few interesting tenants and they are just waiting for this project to be green-lighted to have more meaningful conversation.”
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Belostotsky said he also lives in the neighbourhood.
“There’s going to be some residents who could be a little bit afraid of what it could be — I too might be afraid if I didn’t know… who was developing it — but all I can say is we intend it to be a really great project.”
Council could make their final decision on the proposal on Monday. Gordon said she expects there to be about 20 people speaking in opposition to the project at city hall.
“This is a green jewel of a neighbourhood and we can’t lose it,” she said.
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