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'Get this party started': City backs Eau Claire redevelopment plans

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Ten years after the city sold the Eau Claire site, council has approved a long-awaited plan to redevelop the area once seen as a jewel of the downtown core.

Council gave the green light Monday to a multi-use redevelopment plan that will include five towers, 1,000 residential units, a hotel and an office building on the 2.1-million-square-foot site along the Bow River.

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Area Coun. Druh Farrell, who had long opposed the redevelopment, brought forward the final two readings on the plan, but continued to express concerns about the concept.

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“We’re taking a leap of faith. It’s a big leap of faith, but we’re three-quarters down a long path and I don’t see moving down another direction at this point,” she said, adding she continues to be opposed to an office tower on the site.

“It’s really beautiful and the community has said they’d love to see this move forward; they’re desperate to see something completed in this area. Let’s get this party started.”

In addition to approving plans for the site, council also signed off on a controversial move by developer Harvard Developments Inc. to move the area’s landmark 27-metre tall brick smokestack about 10 metres to the southwest of its existing site.

Eau Claire’s 27-metre red brick smokestack was built in 1947.
Eau Claire’s 27-metre red brick smokestack was built in 1947. Photo by Pier Moreno Silvestri /Postmedia Network

In order to move the 70-year-old structure, the city has had to temporarily lift its designation as a municipal historic resource, granted in 2008, which provides the smokestack some protection. Harvard agreed to cover the costs of any damage to the smokestack if it’s moved, council heard, and the historic designation will be reinstated after the move.

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Farrell, who along with members of Calgary’s heritage community has been opposed to moving the smokestack, said she remains uncomfortable with the lifting of its historical designation.

“This heritage designation is supposed to mean something,” she said. “For council to un-designate it for convenience . . . is just the wrong thing to do. It sends a message to the heritage communities and cities across the country that Calgary doesn’t really care.”

Eau Claire renderings by Harvard Developments Inc.
Eau Claire renderings by Harvard Developments Inc. Calgary Herald

Harvard first brought its redevelopment plans to council in 2015 but the project was sent back to the drawing board to increase residential space, reduce the impact of shadows on its plaza and integrate the site with the planned Green Line LRT.

The company purchased the site in 2007 for $13.5 million, well below market value because the land sits on a flood plain and was encumbered with a 75-year lease.

slogan@postmedia.com

On Twitter: @ShawnLogan403

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