Condo tower for artists in Quarters gets green light

Arts groups proposing a tower of live-work units in The Quarters area of downtown Edmontonsay the go-ahead from the city is a milestone,but the next step will be towinsupport from the federal and provincial governments.

Councilapproved a zoning change to permit the development in the neighbourhoodduring a public hearing at city hall Monday afternoon.

It is an essential milestone.- Linda Huffman, executive director, Arts Habitat Edmonton

"It is an essential milestone," said Linda Huffman, executive director of Arts Habitat Edmonton, which has been working on the project with Artists Urban Village for the past five years.

The groups have done extensive design work with heritage planners and architects to come up with a building that aligns with the city's vision for the corner of 96th Street and 102A Avenue.

The first four floors will be a podium which will house Rapid Fire Theatre, Mile Zero Dance and the Alberta Craft Council.

There will also be an atrium and 21 studios suitable for individual artists or small organizations. The remaining 14 floors will consist of 64 units where artists can live and work.

The price tag on the project is $63 million.

While the city is putting up $8.3 million, the arts groups are counting on an additional $8.3 million from each of the federal and provincial governments.

The rest of the funding is to come from the sale of the units,20 of which will be affordable housing.

Preserving downtown heritage

The development will incorporate the historic Koermann Block built in 1912. The yellow bricks from the north and east facades will be removed, cleaned, and added tothe new tower.

There is a 1920s-era replica of the Koermann Block in Fort Edmonton Park.

"A lot of renovation happened to the building in the 1950s," Huffman said. "What we're doing is we're going to focus on the 1950s era in our reconstruction of the building."

Coun. Scott McKeen thinks the development will be a catalyst to revitalize the area. He said he's "heard sort of through the grapevine that the feds are ready to go." The bigger challenge is the cash-strapped province.

"We all know that the province is under some pretty heavy constraint, but the world can't stop," McKeen said.

Huffman said at this point"no promises have been made" to the groups by the higher levels of government. She said while they don't have particular grants in mind, she suspects the project could potentially be compatible with various funding pots.

If the federal and provincial governments pony up the rest of the money needed, Huffman said shovels could be in the ground in six months with theconstruction timeline attwo years.

The building would stand just blocks from the Citadel Theatre and Art Gallery of Alberta.

"It's a neighbourhood that has a lot of history in terms of the arts community," Huffman said. "This is a way to ensure that artists are embedded in that community for the long term."

roberta.bell@cbc.ca

@roberta__bell