Despite opposition from residents, Edmonton city council has rezoned a piece of land where the vacant St. Anthony School building sits.
St. Anthony — on the corner of 84th Avenue and 104th Street in Old Strathcona — was first built in 1906 and was the first Catholic school on Edmonton’s south side.
The rezoning application was submitted by Beljan Development, who want to have an eight-storey mid-rise built on the site. The land was under parks and services and is now mixed use.
The rezoning application was passed unanimously by city councillors.
A series of public hearings held on Monday had residents express concern about the rezoning, ranging from traffic congestion, impacts on surrounding art venues and loss of sunlight to historic importance.
While the building is noted for having historical significance it has not been added to the inventory of historic resources, meaning its preservation is not guaranteed, but the company who made the application said it wants to preserve the school.
“Because we have a pretty large inventory of buildings similar to this. Our intention is to, down the road, work with the city, the heritage department, get it on the inventory,” said Leah Kinsella with Beljan, when asked about the considerations of working with an older building.
A total of 11 speakers registered for the public hearing opposed the rezoning bylaw.
“My concern with rezoning this lot is that it could set a precedent that undermines the value of our parks and services zones,” said resident Amy Dzu.
“Potentially leading to more areas being purchased with the sole intent to have them rezoned for profitability rather than community benefit.”
Dzu said the additional influx of people would result in a strain to existing services.
“I would love to see this lot redeveloped into something more than a parking lot and underused building,” she said.
“However, I believe that the developers should collaborate with the community to create something that addresses underserved needs and fosters a sense of connection.”
Coun. Michael Janz, for Ward papastew which includes the St. Anthony School building site, said Edmonton is in a housing crisis.
“The metrics we have are that it does seem like there’s more housing being built, but there’s 50,000 people per year moving to Edmonton. In the last three years, we’ve gone up 150,000 people,” Janz said.
“Council declared a housing emergency, so I’m worried if we pause residential construction.”