Developer looks for city's help with Edmonton City Centre

Westrich Pacific is looking for as much help from the city as it can get as it looks to redevelop Edmonton City Centre. "It's transformational, and it can't happen without major stakeholders," Westrich's co-CEO David Sanche told Postmedia. "It's going to be a partnership with the City of Edmonton. This is too big for us … We think it's going to take many years, and it's very, very challenging. But if we take it in baby steps, we can make it successful with the right support, with the right partners." Ward O-day'min Coun. Anne Stevenson said it'll be the city's job to stay out of the way when it comes to permitting and zoning, but she didn't suggest there would be any direct financial assistance.

There are a number of ways the city can provide financial assistance for downtown redevelopment generally, though it's not clear what the mall would be eligible for. The downtown student housing incentive — which Westrich accessed for The Vantage and Lilac Park, adjacent to O-day'min Park — has been fully allocated. The mall is just outside the boundary for the downtown community revitalization levy, but it would theoretically benefit from CRL projects, such as O-day'min Park, the event park adjacent to Rogers Place, and streetscaping improvements. The city also offers the infill infrastructure fund, which provides funding for public infrastructure improvements to support new housing in the redeveloping area. The fund is accepting applications for affordable housing projects and has a waitlist for market housing developments.

The mall is zoned under the core commercial arts zone, which allows a wide range of uses including housing, restaurants, and retail. With development planner approval, anything from a brewery to a carnival to a science exhibit to a secondhand store could go in the space. The zone allows for buildings up to 45 storeys as-of-right, or 75 storeys with development planner approval. Sanche told CBC Edmonton's Radio Active that Westrich plans to convert the main floor of the former Hudson's Bay space to street-facing retail, and on top of that, construct two floors of loft-style apartments, a nine-storey building, and a few towers up to 60 storeys. It's also planning another tower on top of the west parkade. Before any of that happens, however, the deal has to close; Western Investor expects that to happen by Nov. 18.