New development in the works for Whyte Avenue
Wheaton Properties, which owns the land where the Southpark Pontiac Buick GMC dealership used to be, is now looking at developing the site.
Located on the south side of Whyte Avenue, on both sides of 106 Street, the large parcel of land would be broken up into four areas.
The dealership was a fixture on the strip for more than half a century, but it closed its doors around 2008 during the financial crisis as GMC shut down hundreds of dealerships.
“It’s been an empty site, we store cars on it today,” Andrea Wheaton, Wheaton properties director, said.
“But we think there can be so much more vitality generated from this site.”
For years the company sought out another dealership for the site – but now they’re re-imagining the space.
The development, which is in its early stages, would be mixed use – with walkable retail and residential space.
Nancy MacDonald, Stantec’s community development leader, is a consultant on the project.
She said the site could see as many as 1,200 residential units in towers up to five storeys tall on Whyte Avenue and 18 storeys tall on 81 Avenue. Some people are already saying that’s too tall.