By the time this article is published, we expect the Eau Claire Plaza to be fully reopened, festivals in full swing, and access to Prince’s Island Park to be clear and direct over the new Jaipur Bridge. It felt like this project took forever, and there were some big concerns that we had to get involved in – your ECCA is very proud of the nine mature evergreens we managed to save! Transparency, honesty, and openness from all stakeholders has resulted in a beautiful, refreshed space that has increased flood resiliency at its core.
We’re now involved in a new Land Use proposal from QuadReal Property Group for the last remaining significant residential space in the neighbourhood. I hope that many of you had the chance to attend the open house they held on June 10. If you couldn’t make it, please go to our webpage to view the presentation boards they shared with the community.
The land use proposal QuadReal submitted in June 2025 is significantly better than the one they shared in October of 2024, but there are still areas of concern. We are pleased they have reduced their proposal for FAR from 7.50 on the West and 9.75 on the East to 6.00 across the board. This is still an increase from the ARP because they will have the option to participate in bonus density later, but it’s a step in the right direction.
They informed us that they were advised by the City to use CC-X as their base template for this project. This concerns us because it is explicitly a mixed-use designation with “light industrial” discretionary uses. We explained our preference for CC-ERR which is an explicitly residential designation with light commercial discretionary uses. QuadReal promised to discuss that with the City. We reiterated that any designation template that does not include the word “industrial” will be a big improvement.
ECCA is strongly in favour of petitioning the City to exclude above ground parking and utilities from the overall FAR calculation. If they agree, then a lower FAR will ensure units that are more reasonably sized. In our experience, the City takes a template and then can make any changes they want to it. We advised QuadReal that we would support them if they chose to ask for this.
We talked for some time about +15 access. We’re generally in favour, but it’s not a deal breaker; we understand their security concerns.
ECCA will continue to follow up on this project and express our concerns to both City Planning and Terry Wong.
Click here to the Eau Claire Community News home page for the latest Eau Claire community updates.
