Redevelopment efforts on Calgary’s former Kensington Manor site receive pushback – Calgary

There is growing pushback amongst residents in Hillhurst to a proposed residential development on a vacant lot along 10 Street N.W., formerly home to the Kensington Manor apartment building.

The Kensington Manor building was demolished in April 2020 after it was deemed structurally unsafe and tenants of the seven-storey building were evacuated in November 2017.

The property was sold earlier this year, and now the new owners have applied to rezone the site to make way for a nine-storey residential rental building.

However, some who live behind the site of the proposed build are raising concerns with the plan, including the height of the proposal and the potential impacts to the alleyway adjacent to the property.

“We’re very much in favour of appropriate development,” Hillhurst resident Jeremy van Loon told Global News.

“The proposal that’s come in, it’s not aligning with the (area redevelopment plan).”

The Hillhurst Sunnyside Area Redevelopment Plan (ARP) was written in 2009, and is used to guide future zoning, development, and transportation throughout the community.

That policy includes a maximum height of around six storeys or 20 metres in Hillhurst Sunnyside, nine metres less than the rezoning application.

“We’re hoping for some certainty,”  van Loon said. “We have this great tool, it works, it has been tested, it has the support of the community and up until recently it’s been the primary tool for development in the neighbourhood.”

Despite the concerns, the application to rezone the property received unanimous support at the Calgary Planning Commission meeting early last month.

The Hillhurst Sunnyside Community Association (HSCA), which hasn’t declared support or opposition to the proposed development, said some in the community don’t feel their feedback is heard by city planners.

“There is a lot of verbiage that speaks to comments from community associations as well as community members being used to help influence decisions,” said HSCA community planning coordinator, Becky Poschmann . “But we aren’t understanding how it is, especially when our comments are reflective of our statutory planning document.”

Another concern noted by area residents is the proposal to build an underground parkade into the narrow alley behind the property when the Kensington Manor building exited onto 10 Street N.W.

Ward 7 Coun. Terry Wong met with residents over the weekend for a walkthrough of the area and said he’s planning to meet with the developer and city planners this week to ask further questions.

“The fundamental question is have we found the right balance that allows us to provide that main street densification and business,” Wong told Global News. “But at the same time, preserve, protect, and safeguard some of the concerns that people have in the laneway and ultimately the livability on 10a Street.”

In a phone call with Global News, property owner Amble Ventures said it has conducted a traffic impact study through a third party to determine how a rear-facing parkade would impact the alley.

Amble Ventures president Ajay Nehru said the parkade would be limited to between 36 and 38 stalls due to the site’s proximity to the Sunnyside LRT station.

Nehru said the property’s proximity of transit, park space, cycle paths, a grocery store, and other commercial businesses makes it “exactly the type of site where you want to density,” while noting demand for housing in the area.

The zoning application also noted two virtual public engagement sessions with area residents, as well as signage and information sharing with the community association.

Nehru said the plan is to submit an application for a development permit in the coming weeks to get shovels in the ground on the project.

The zoning application will be heard by city council on July 25.

&copy 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.