by Rob Jobst
New Multi-Family Project – 1740 5A Street SW
The CBMCA’s Planning and Development Committee met in February with the owner of The Elliot, a lovely little 1940s apartment building at the corner of 5A Street and 19 Avenue. His plan is to demolish the existing five-unit structure and construct a new six-storey, 23-unit building in its place. We saw some initial design concepts that reflect the owner’s desire to pay homage to The Elliot by incorporating some of the signature styles present in the current building. The committee felt that it’s not necessarily appropriate to extend the design features of a two-storey building to one that is three times the height. Our overall impression was that the design is too stark and modernist for our heritage community. The proposed development would require a land-use redesignation and is proposing to have no on-site parking, so there will surely be a lot more engagement with both the community association and affected neighbours before this proposal is submitted to the City.
New Multi-Family Project – 121 17 Avenue SE
Earlier this year we met with representatives of a company that have submitted an application for a land-use redesignation to enable a mixed-use development located at 121 17 Avenue SE. A couple of small buildings are currently on this site just east of the new-ish Mission 17 apartment building (home to Rosso Coffee Roasters). The plan is for a six-storey residential development with retail on the ground floor. Like so many of the proposals we see these days, this project requires a change to the current zoning. One of the features that makes this proposal so interesting is that the shallow blocks between 17 and 18 Avenues east of 4 Street have no back alleys, and this building would span the block, north-south, between the avenues. The aesthetic of this one is very contemporary, but on that stretch of 17 there is no existing heritage building stock to reflect or respect. Most important is that it appears to be a quality development and that, at only six floors, it’s so much more of a Mission-scaled building than the Beltline-scaled towers that have been forced upon us in other places. Additionally, this project (if built) would help to enliven the 17 Avenue ‘dead zone’ between 2 Street SW and the Stampede Grounds. The CBMCA offered our support to this rezoning application.
A very initial concept of what a new six-storey building on the 100 block of 17 Avenue SW might look like.
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