Public hearing on Alldritt Tower proposal to continue Wednesday

The public hearing on a contentious80-storeycondo tower proposed for Jasper Avenue will continue on Wednesday.

More than 50 people registered to speak at a public hearing at Edmonton city hall on Monday.

Roughly three-quarters of them were opposed to the development and not all of them got time atthe microphone; about 10 presenters were putover to Wednesday.

"I think when you have quote-unquoteiconic projects of this nature that are pretty dramatically misalignedwith the area redevelopment plan that the public weighed in on in great detail and in great numbers for a long time, there's some pretty serious reaction to that," saidCoun. Michael Walters, who voted against the associated land sale, after the public hearing adjourned onMonday. "That's what we're contending with."

Walters expects the continuation of the hearing will take up another full day Wednesday.

The developmentwould include a hotel, condominiums, restaurant, fitness facilities, shops and two publicly accessible parks, stretching over 100,000 square feet.

Private land deal

Some of the details contained in a recent land deal between project developer AlldrittLand Corporation and the city have been released by David Benjestorf,legal counsel and general manager with Alldritt.

• Council approves land sale to make way for 80-storey Alldritt Tower

Earlier this month councillors votedbehind closed doorsto sell the land on the embankment above Louise McKinney Park to Alldritt. The sale was necessary for this project to go ahead.

If the project is approved, the first thing that'll happen is the old pink and blue buildings on the main site will be demolished, said Benjestorf.

"I have in my hand a demolition permit application for the pink and blue buildings," Benjestorf told councillors.

Once the buildings come down, the site will be redeveloped into an "interim park,"he said.

"If we get into the ground right away, a park is possible for this summer," Benjestorf said.

That temporary park will remainuntil construction begins on the tower.Alldritt would then have 10 years to begin the development or the land reverts back to the city.

The development also includes a "restricted covenant" which means the public would be allowed to accessthe park as part of the project, he said.