Holyrood Gardens development proposal rejected — again

A proposed redevelopment of Holyrood Gardens in getting another rewrite after a City of Edmonton committee rejected it for the second time.

In recently-released minutes from a closed-door meeting, the city’s design committee opted to not support the revised plans on May 1, calling a “fundamental redesign” necessary.

The plans, by Regency Developments, had first been voted down by city council in November. Located near the upcoming Holyrood LRT station, they called for three towers ranging from 18 to 22 storeys, as well as four six-storey midrise buildings.

READ MORE: Residents help create artwork that will adorn future Holyrood LRT stop

Acting on council’s recommendations, the developers worked to make the towers narrower, reduce their height and increase the number of units from 1,200 to 1,400.

In the committee’s rejection, it asked developers to better integrate their design with the existing neighbourhood, consider not just density but also creating a sense of place and the character of the area and minimize shadow and wind impacts.

READ MORE: Holyrood Gardens revised plan misses mark again, residents say

“There just were a lot of things that I think could be done better,” said Councillor Ben Henderson, who represents the area. “In terms of taking advantage of the fact that you have an LRT stop there, you want to create a sense of place around that stop.”

The Holyrood Community League had been pushing to have the designs reconsidered, and says it continues to work with developers.

“It has to look nice, it has to function well, be safe, work well in the winter as well as summer,” said Dave Sutherland who is the civics director for the league.

The community league says it hopes the next evolution of the design plans can go before city council this summer.