After sitting empty for many years, St. Albert's South Riel area is finally expected to see several developments.
City council has signed off on an area structure plan that allows for a range of multi-family housing, a light industrial business park and general-employment commercial and industrial development.
The area is located in the southwest corner of St. Albert near the Enjoy Centre, and bounded by Ray Gibbon Drive to the west, Levasseur Road to the north and the CN Rail line to the east. It encompasses 91 hectares (225.75 acres) of land.
Three main developers looking to build in the area presented their plans at a chamber of commerce luncheon Wednesday. The Gazette has prepared a short review of those plans.
One landowner, Averton Group of Companies, also had its neighbourhood plan approved by city council this week. Averton wants to build an urban village with some mixed-use across the street from the Enjoy Centre. More in-depth detail on that neighbourhood development and council's debate can be found on page 10. The other two developers are Cape Construction and GWL Realty Advisors.
Bellevue Village
One new neighbourhood will be developed just south of the Enjoy Centre by Vancouver-based Cape Construction. The 13.5-acre site, named Bellevue Village, is expected to include apartment buildings, a lifestyle mall, restaurants, a grocery store and a hotel.
Reisa Schwartzman, president of construction and development at Cape, said the neighbourhood is based on an urban village design, combining commercial and residential development to make a walkable community with all amenities near to where people live.
The lifestyle mall, for example, would offer residents the traditional function of a shopping centre with a variety of leisure amenities, such as restaurants and community services. It would also feature residences above the retail space, and be easily accessible for pedestrians.
The first building Cape wants to develop is one of two apartment buildings. The buildings will each offer 150 one- and two-bedroom units and are expected to house up to 600 people. Rent is expected to be about $1,200 to $1,300 for a one-bedroom apartment, and $1,500 to $1,700 for a two-bedroom.
The apartment buildings will also have underground parking for residents, and the developer plans for more parking spaces near the shops and restaurants. The style of the buildings will be comparable to the Enjoy Centre, with steel and concrete structures. Development of the entire site is expected to take about five years.
Anthony Henday Business Park
Another development planned for South Riel is the Anthony Henday Business Park. The site is located south of LeClair Way and east of Riel Drive. The developer, GWL Realty Advisors, wants to build about 1.3-million square feet of light-industrial warehouses, and about 300,000 square feet of retail space.
The warehouses were previously said to provide storage for retailers, as well as office and manufacturing space for smaller companies. The retail space is expected to consist of gas station and restaurant-type stores but may also be used for a car dealership.
Paul Derksen, development manager for GWL, said the developer is now preparing the 54.1-hectare site, and hopes to put up its first building next year. Full build-out is expected to take five to seven years. The company has also provided compensation to Ducks Unlimited for removing wetland from the site. The wetland has been reclaimed nearby. The developer has also moved a rare moss from the site, which is now growing at Big Lake.
What they need
Before anything can be built, the developers have to wait for the construction of Project 9, which will expand sewer capacity in the area. The developers also hope the twinning of Ray Gibbon Drive will go ahead sooner than later to accommodate increases in traffic once the population of the area grows. The twinning is the province's responsibility.
