After negotiating for more than a year, the City of Edmonton has sold a high-traffic strip of land bordering Gateway Boulevard.
Heavy equipment has been brought in to move the dirt berm that currently occupies the narrow site north of 34 Avenue.
Eventually, multiple mixed-use and environmentally efficient buildings will take over the land.
Initial renderings show seven square buildings in neutral colours lined with large windows and glass doors.
“This is a gateway to the city, and I believe once our buildings are up, it’s going to change the complete streetscape of the entire corridor, getting into our core of the city,” Entity Developments owner Raminder Sodhi told Global News.
Inside the development will be fast-food restaurants with drive-thru windows, retail spaces and medical offices.
The shape and location of the land have proved difficult.
On one side, the site is bordered by the busy Gateway Boulevard; on the other is a set of railroad tracks.
“There definitely are challenges that we faced on this site a little bit,” Sodhi said, adding the location has prompted plenty of interest in what is being built.
“Being where we are with the team that we work with, our engineers and our architects have been really smart. They’ve overcome some of those obstacles already. I think once the product is out there, you guys will see it. It’ll be a very nice product.”
Sodhi’s team is aiming to have 90 per cent of the spaces occupied by the time the development is complete.
Construction is scheduled to wrap up by the end of 2022 or in early 2023.