Westcorp
A development permit was granted Monday by ѻý city council for the next phase of construction of a major new residential project in the 3700 block of Lakeshore Road. When fully complete, the project will have about 1,000 new rental suites.
 City of ѻý

Final approval was given with minimal discussion Monday to a major new housing development in the Lower Mission.

Council voted 8-1 to issue a development permit for a multi-tower project on Lakeshore Road with 1,000 new rental suites.

When fully built-out, the site will have two 17-storey towers, one 14-storey tower, and three 10-storey towers.

The proposal, on the former site of the Hiawatha trailer park, dates back several years. The most significant recent change from earlier iterations was councilѻý decision, in June of this year following a public hearing, to allow building heights to increase from 11 to 17 storeys, with a view to creating more open space on the ground.

“I feel like we’ve talked about this a fair bit, given the process we’ve gone through,” Mayor Colin Basran said.

“There was a public hearing and significant conversation amongst us before we made our decision, so I don’t want anyone to be surprised. This isn’t something we take lightly. We’ve had significant community conversation and conversations and debate amongst ourselves already to get it to this point,” Basran said.
As he has previously, Coun. Charlie Hodge voted against the project. But even he did not speak about the issue Monday.

Work is already underway on some townhouse units that were approved for the site earlier by city council. With councilѻý granting of a development permit for the next phase of construction, the building of a large parkade needed for the towers is expected to begin early next year.

The development is a project of Edmonton-based Westcorp, which also has long-delayed plans for a new downtown ѻý high-rise.