80-storey tower proposed for downtown Edmonton

Plans for an80-storeycondo tower proposed for the Quarters in downtown Edmonton were presented to the public Monday evening.

The Quarters Hotel and Residences wouldtower overJasper Avenue andGrierson Hill Road, bordered on the west by the Shaw Conference Centre and on the east by96th Street.

The building would be the tallest in Edmonton.The StantecTowerstretches66 storeysand isexpected to open in 2018.

But thearchitect behind the new project, Brad Kennedysays despite the height, the river valley will still be in sight for people below.

"We designed the podium of the tower to be transparent, so the only piece of the tower that blocks six-and-a-half per cent of the view is the core for the elevators and the stairwells," said Kennedy.

"Everything else is completely clear, so you can walk along Jasper Avenue and you can see down through the tower to the whole river valley."

The projectwould includeahotel, condominiums, restaurants, fitness facilities,shopsand two publiclyaccessible parks, stretching over 100,000 square feet.

Several amendments to the land-use bylaw would need to be made for the project to be approved, includingremoving aportion of the site fromtheNorth Saskatchewan River Valley Area Redevelopment Plan.

Alf Whiteis a long-time resident of the neighbourhoodand president of the Boyle StreetCommunity League.

"I know that Boyle Street has had a bad reputation for the violence in the past. But that's changed now. I've been here for 10 years now and I've seen it change, a very positive change."

After looking at plansand pictures, he's excited about the future of his neighbourhood.

"With developments like this, and the Armature, and the Quarters development, we hope and the board hopes when people say, 'You live in Boyle Street? Cool.' "

The developers,Alldritt Land Corporation LP, will have to go before city council to get approval for rezoning. They hope to do that by next fall.