What do you think of this project?

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    54
Edmontonian said:
I feel like you can't go wrong with either, just get stuff built!

My take on it is that a nice TOD in the Quarters with 3 or 4 towers would be better for the Quarters, however an iconic and recognizable tower for Edmonton on the same stretch of Jasper Ave as Hotel Mac and the convention centre would be better and more exciting for the city in the long run as long as you add in those low-midrise buildings in the Quarters to fill out the empty lots and keep more foot traffic in the area.
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Kinda, sorta.

It's a bit of a Frankenstein, but I want a very dense, but low-rise Quarters... however this could be something special.
 
IanO said:
Kinda, sorta.

It's a bit of a Frankenstein, but I want a very dense, but low-rise Quarters... however this could be something special.
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I agree with you on that we already have our downtown and uptown (Oliver). The Quarters is the perfect place to have some nice low rise buildings with cool CRU's and unique restaurants, well maintained and nice streetscapes, besides it's already our Arts district.

With that being said I don't think it's going to happen. We already have this proposal, the Hat at 5 corners is already built, the Chinese Elders buildings have some height to them, and considering some of the past proposals in the area such as Civic Quarters, RedBrick Civic Tower (both part of the competition for Edmonton Tower iirc) and Artist Quarters it seems like developers are looking for height in the area. Hopefully the finished product of the Quarters is a nice mix between what we have in downtown and what we have around Whyte ave.

To add to that I kind of wish the new rendition of this tower was built elsewhere, the original proposal with kind of a skinny Burj Khalifa style would've been iconic and awesome over here but the new proposal is just a nice looking office building thats going to stick out like a thumb. This is more than twice the height of The Pearl which looked a little out of place when it was first built. The BMO site that stupid regency owns would be better for this honestly.
 
My understanding is that Aldritt has a yard full of early 20th century bricks stored for the purpose of using them for this tower's podium. If they can build a glass tower and have a similar heritage podium to Kelly Ramsey's (Enbridge), it'd be perfect for the area..Tower would be truly iconic. Stantec could have been that but blew it with their boxy, no frills design.
 
cpnfantstk said:
My understanding is that Aldritt has a yard full of early 20th century bricks stored for the purpose of using them for this tower's podium. If they can build a glass tower and have a similar heritage podium to Kelly Ramsey's (Enbridge), it'd be perfect for the area..Tower would be truly iconic. Stantec could have been that but blew it with their boxy, no frills design.
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I love Stantec to be honest with ya. I only wish they would have kept the lighting features. That aside, it’s an engineering marvel to be able to stack one tower onto the side of another, and the boxey, utilitarian aesthetic perfectly embodies the home of an engineering firm.
 
cpnfantstk said:
My understanding is that Aldritt has a yard full of early 20th century bricks stored for the purpose of using them for this tower's podium. If they can build a glass tower and have a similar heritage podium to Kelly Ramsey's (Enbridge), it'd be perfect for the area..Tower would be truly iconic. Stantec could have been that but blew it with their boxy, no frills design.
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Iconic cost money, and we are NOT A CITY TO BE BUILDING ICONIC for we are not yet a city of corporates or highflyers that would throw out cash for the purpose of being associated at that level. Regardless what each of us here expect out of "icon", I live with realization we are an above average city and come to the understanding that Iconic will never happen here. Show me an Iconic in Vancouver where millionaires and billionaires around the world have chosen that location as their playground? If Vancouver does not have that, why would you expect that here in a city that is not even WHITE COLLAR?
 
Whattagame said:
I wonder if that was the strategy. The first version was excellent, but they needed to change it for whatever reason. So they throw out that garbage second rendering so that number three looks great by comparison.
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Ya that second one is butt ugly compared to the first rendering! 🤢
 
Let's be honest, the first version was a pie in the sky rendering that was not ever going to get built. The new version is much more realistic, especially since it was previously stated some time ago that this is a challenging site to build on from a geotechnical standpoint.
 
Any chance the convention centre has plans for a big expansion in the future and does this hinder that at all? The hotel portion would be great for it and I assume there is enough space with the surface lot to the west and potentially could expand south over Grierson hill road.
 
The first version was an effort by Brad Kennedy (Pearl and Symphony were also products from his design mind) and his design concept was not "pie in the sky" and might well have proceeded to construction documents. Whatever the disagreements between Brad and Alldritt -- we may never know -- he was let go and Gene Dub was hired in his stead. The second so-called rendering was, as Ken alluded to, a simple massing model that actually led to the rendering that we have seen most recently (in other words 2 and 3 were part of the same process). The new version is no more "realistic" than Brad Kennedy's vision -- just different. Gene Dub has his own design idiom. As I have stated before on this site, because of coal seams and abandoned mine shafts, there is a requirement that whatever is built at this location will require deep footings and the deep footings relative to their costs will require a large structure above grade to make the entire effort cost-effective. So expect the final tower to be very tall. Alldritt is looking to create a City within a City with this legacy project with Hotel, condos, rental apartments, offices and retail all within one "legacy" structure. This is the most qualified site in the entire City for such a project -- first class hotel next door to the Convention Centre; expensive, high-class condos with a dramatic view of the river valley and a direct valley pedestrian connection; expensive rental apartments (same rationale); and retail that picks up on the Convention Centre business and envisions the Quarters being an art-centric section of the City.
 
archited said:
The first version was an effort by Brad Kennedy (Pearl and Symphony were also products from his design mind) and his design concept was not "pie in the sky" and might well have proceeded to construction documents. Whatever the disagreements between Brad and Alldritt -- we may never know -- he was let go and Gene Dub was hired in his stead. The second so-called rendering was, as Ken alluded to, a simple massing model that actually led to the rendering that we have seen most recently (in other words 2 and 3 were part of the same process). The new version is no more "realistic" than Brad Kennedy's vision -- just different. Gene Dub has his own design idiom. As I have stated before on this site, because of coal seams and abandoned mine shafts, there is a requirement that whatever is built at this location will require deep footings and the deep footings relative to their costs will require a large structure above grade to make the entire effort cost-effective. So expect the final tower to be very tall. Alldritt is looking to create a City within a City with this legacy project with Hotel, condos, rental apartments, offices and retail all within one "legacy" structure. This is the most qualified site in the entire City for such a project -- first class hotel next door to the Convention Centre; expensive, high-class condos with a dramatic view of the river valley and a direct valley pedestrian connection; expensive rental apartments (same rationale); and retail that picks up on the Convention Centre business and envisions the Quarters being an art-centric section of the City.
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I always felt that Kennedys design would call for an unjustifiable price per square foot, and that we would eventually get a bulkier floor plate on this building to make sure it goes ahead and gets successful sales.

That said, I like both designs. This one feels like something straight out of Chicago. And with only 30 story building in the vicinity to “compete” with its height, this thing is going to be awe inspiring for those hiking down in bottom of the valley.
 
kcantor said:
i'm pretty sure the "second one" was not a rendering but a simple massing model...
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Okay then how about the photo at the top of this thread is the one they should really build if they’re actually going to do it because it’s drop dead gorgeous?
 
Alldritt doesn't even own all of the land yet as far as I know so until the land transfers to them, if it even does at all, don't expect to see much action imo.
 
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