[edm13]

I think 3 stories and 8 units is too many. Should have kept it to a two storey duplex with legal suites plus a couple garage suites, so a total of 6. Something like that would work much better

 

[degrandprix]

I think 3 stories and 8 units is too many. Should have kept it to a two storey duplex with legal suites plus a couple garage suites, so a total of 6. Something like that would work much better

I think it would be ok if it was executed better, but those wooden stairs on the front really give it a chaotic and "overcrowded" feel. The duplex with suites is definitely more tried-and-true, with the main doors on the front and suite on the side.

I wonder why they didn't put the 2nd floor stairs on the back?

 

[EtoV]

Back a number of years ago I had a review concept accepted by Los Angeles Municipal government to establish a Restaurant and Hospitality Expediting group that enabled a joint function of Planning and Building & Safety. Prior to its set-up it could take as much as a year to simply get approval through 11 different restaurant governing bodies at the City; after set-up that was reduced to one body and plans could get approved in as little as 3-weeks (including corrections). Something similar could be set up in Edmonton for infill housing which could also include a 3-party design review group. The department would only need 6 or 7 employees (L.A. had six and that's for a City many times larger than Edmonton. The Approval Group could interface with Community Groups related to developments in their area. To pass design review, then, the developer of an infill project would have to get sign-off from both the Community and the 3-party Design group and approval from the on-board in-department Building & Safety engineers. Who besides City Councillors to Contact? -- Kent Snyder is the Branch Manager of Planning and Environment Services for the City of Edmonton; Erik Backstrom is Senior Planner for Planning Strategies at the City of Edmonton (he also leads the city's heritage planning program -- I have had several agreeable zoom meetings with him); Kenan Handzic is the Principal Planner at the City of Edmonton. Call 311 and ask for one of these gentlemen by name or email attention to them at developmentcompliance@edmonton.ca -- if they get enough complaining emails with suggestions for ways to improve the review process for infills then maybe the wheels will turn at City Hall. There are also a number of planners that post on this website -- e.g. @Avenuer, @Greenspace, and (not with the City but in the know otherwise) @CplKlinger -- all should get engaged knowing that the worst that could happen is a "transfer" (not firing).

Requiring sign off from the community for designs seems like a well intentioned idea waiting to be abused.

All it would take is one person or one community acting in bad faith to railroad projects and get them stuck in permitting hell.

 

[TAS]

I think it would be ok if it was executed better, but those wooden stairs on the front really give it a chaotic and "overcrowded" feel. The duplex with suites is definitely more tried-and-true, with the main doors on the front and suite on the side.

I wonder why they didn't put the 2nd floor stairs on the back?

The front half and back half of this house are the exact same - 4 units in the front and 4 in the back with stairs on each side to access the upper units.

 

[thommyjo]

I think 3 stories and 8 units is too many. Should have kept it to a two storey duplex with legal suites plus a couple garage suites, so a total of 6. Something like that would work much better

There’s lots of great 8plex designs though that don’t feel this way.

Also, 3 stories is common in new suburbs. And many “mansions” are 3 stories in more luxury areas. So when thinking 50 years down the road, it’s hard to suggest nothing over 2 in our redeveloping areas. 3 stories also allows stacked townhomes with parking underneath. Like the new blatchford pilot project.

6plex and 8plex feel the same imo. We just need better builders and developers. I like the work NDura does.

 

[TAS]

There’s lots of great 8plex designs though that don’t feel this way.

Also, 3 stories is common in new suburbs. And many “mansions” are 3 stories in more luxury areas. So when thinking 50 years down the road, it’s hard to suggest nothing over 2 in our redeveloping areas. 3 stories also allows stacked townhomes with parking underneath. Like the new blatchford pilot project.

6plex and 8plex feel the same imo. We just need better builders and developers. I like the work NDura does.

View attachment 635877View attachment 635878View attachment 635879

There's no doubt 6 and 8 unit builds on 'corner lots' like you have pictured can and are looking good. It's the mid-block 8-plex that is more limiting from a design perspective and that needs to get better.

Maybe that means going to 3 levels so it can even be narrowed a bit. And 3 levels would perhaps allow on-site parking options. Or we don't go beyond 5 or 6 units in a midblock - which is still quite a decent increase in units.

 

[Airboy]

I look at all those valleys on the last picture and see loads of issues.

 

[Romanov]

Infill going up in Westmount east of 124 St

 

[PeterNotParker]

There's no doubt 6 and 8 unit builds on 'corner lots' like you have pictured can and are looking good. It's the mid-block 8-plex that is more limiting from a design perspective and that needs to get better.

Maybe that means going to 3 levels so it can even be narrowed a bit. And 3 levels would perhaps allow on-site parking options. Or we don't go beyond 5 or 6 units in a midblock - which is still quite a decent increase in units.

I actually reached out directly to one of the infill developers through Instagram (one of the better ones, though I won't say who), and they told me they prefer building 2 stories since it has lower construction costs overall. I can only assume that is probably a trend across the infill industry (sadly in my opinion).

 

[PeterNotParker]

Walked by this new mid-block 8-plex in Ritchie on the weekend.
No parking available in the back and not even storage in the back for things like bikes.

Looks better than a couple of the others I've seen. And peaked inside and looks nicely done. One simple improvement would have been going with black railings on the stairs consistent with the windows, instead of white.

A young couple who previously bought the bungalow beside this newly built 8-plex were outside as we walked by. They were not impressed with this many units.
View attachment 635656

Maybe I'm in the minority here (based on the responses), but I actually really like this building. I think the cladding choice looks really nice.

 

[policyenthusiast]

There’s lots of great 8plex designs though that don’t feel this way.

Also, 3 stories is common in new suburbs. And many “mansions” are 3 stories in more luxury areas. So when thinking 50 years down the road, it’s hard to suggest nothing over 2 in our redeveloping areas. 3 stories also allows stacked townhomes with parking underneath. Like the new blatchford pilot project.

6plex and 8plex feel the same imo. We just need better builders and developers. I like the work NDura does.

View attachment 635877View attachment 635878View attachment 635879

I have experience with some of the NDura builds and I find the NIMBY opposition to them is far lesser than some other builders. They do still stick out in older neighborhoods, but they look pretty good so people are more open to the gentrification.

 

[David A]

In many other places gentrification means taking older run down character buildings and restoring them and fixing them up, here it seems to mean tearing down older buildings and replacing them with someone new.

 

[policyenthusiast]

GoC's Housing Catalogue is out. Here are the 7 Alberta-specific designs:

 

[policyenthusiast]

I like them, personally. Pretty inoffensive as far as infill goes.

The Ontario designs on the other hand...

 

[archited]

Requiring sign off from the community for designs seems like a well intentioned idea waiting to be abused.

It works well in Los Angeles, getting the sign-off approval from a district Councillor (his or her voting district). The forum is always in a district office where the public is allowed (encouraged) to attend. When I have presented for a sign-off for a restaurant project I have always prepared a written statement accompanied by floor plans, sections and elevations and several concept renderings. I have always got a positive sign-off but often with some exterior design suggestions from the interested public -- landscape ideas, awning concepts, etc. The same could be a very positive move for Edmonton vis-a-vis infill housing projects (and possibly hospitality and retail projects as well) -- it would give Edmonton Councillors a more public face and interface and put decisions closer to the affected population. At a minimum it should be a shield against "crap" and it should make architects and developers try harder.