Delay for controversial Whyte Avenue highrise

Developers behind a proposed highrise along Whyte Avenue will have to wait another eightweeks to see if Edmonton city council will let them begin construction on thehuge new apartment building.

Southpark on Whyte would transform a vacant car dealership lot into a series of residential and commercial towers between 17 and 19 storeys high.

City council decided Monday to delay debate and the public hearing on the application until March 20.

Mayor Don Iveson proposed the delay, saying council and the community needed more context about the vision for the area, something expected to becontained in a plan city staff isworking on.

Plan Whyte will lay out a vision for what the area alongWhytewill look like.

Iveson said he wanted to find out more about what he called the "height chapter" in Plan Whyte.

The city needs to determine "what are appropriate heights along Whyte Avenue, and if you are going to award extra height, what sort of mitigations and what sort of design treatment do you want?," he asked.

"If we all know which way administration is going, (and the) public's had a chance to comment on it, I think that gives council a little more policy context with which to assess this application without losing the possibility of the construction season," Iveson said.

• Condo towers proposed for long-vacant Southpark Motors lot

Simon O'Byrne, a representative for the developer, didn't oppose the delay, saying he preferred an eight-week delay to another scenario which would could have put off development until Plan Whyte was fully complete.

Some councillorsworry about tight timeline

Councillors Bev Esslinger and Ed Gibbons expressed concern over the tight timeline for administration to come back with more information for council.

"I'm concerned with not holding up the development," said Gibbons. "The money's in the bank. I hope on March 20 there won't be another major holdup."

He said staff have a lot of work to do to meet the timeline.

Iveson acknowledged there's not a lot of time to compilethe informationbut said it can be done.

"We'll create an opportunity for the public to weigh in on the principles around height in Plan Whyte," he said. " I think that will aid council in still making a timely decision on this application."

nola.keeler@cbc.ca

@nolakeelerCBC