'Record-setting' boom in development driven by new zoning rules and new LRT
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Construction of new residential and commercial spaces is booming in Edmonton, influenced by new relaxed zoning rules as well as a longer-term trend of neighbourhoods being reshaped by the city's expanding LRT.
In a recent year-in-review report, the City of Edmonton's development services department called 2024 a "record-setting year for growth."
The city awarded 50 per cent more residential development and building permits than it did in 2023, with the overall value of construction permits at $4.2 billion, a 31 per cent growth from the year before.
"I'm not shocked," Coun. Andrew Knack said about the numbers. "Thinking about the growth that we've been seeing, it's just continuing to explode in our city."
The councillor for Ward Nakota Isga said 2023 and '24 saw an influx of people moving to Edmonton from other parts of Canada, and the development boom reflects that.
"You really started to see people in other parts of the country realize just how much more affordable almost all of Alberta is — but when it comes to a major city, how much more affordable Edmonton in particular is."
Edmonton's new zoning bylaw went into effect on Jan. 1, 2024, allowing more diverse and dense types of housing in all parts of the city. In residential zones, the new bylaw allows eight or more housing units to be built on a single lot.
Almost 16,000 net new dwelling units were approved in 2024, of which more than 6,000 were classed as row houses, backyard housing or secondary suites.
According to David Cooper, a transportation planner and consultant with Leading Mobility, Edmonton has — and is — building a significant amount of LRT, which is driving development.
"Rapid transit projects do sometimes spur changes in the urban form to build more housing," said Cooper, who is the lead author on a national report called Housing is on the Line. It makes recommendations on how transit can help Canada's housing issues.
Edmonton now has three LRT lines: the Capital Line, Metro Line and Valley Line Southeast. The Valley Line West is under construction and the Capital Line extension has been approved. The city also plans to extend the Metro line to the northwest of Castle Downs.
In Edmonton, Cooper said transit-oriented developments — or TODs — are evident in areas along the Valley Line Southeast LRT, like Bonnie Doon, Strathearn, Holyrood and Mill Woods Town Centre.
"There's areas that will see development happen over time. We've had TODs occur in Edmonton that are multi-phase: Century Park still getting built out."
With growth comes a wealth of new amenities, he added.
"Stadium Station's a great example of that," Cooper said, referring to the LRT station near Commonwealth Stadium. "You got a reconstructed station, you got a number of different housing units, you got new commercial services that didn't exist before, you have a renovated recreation centre."
'Downtown coming to the neighbourhood'
Many people across the city aren't happy about the changing landscape.
Jaclyn Moravec and her husband, Dallas Moravec, have lived in a single-family home in the Woodvale community of Mill Woods for nine years.
"We looked for a lot because [Dallas] had some friends grow up here and he just thought it was a little gem in Edmonton," Moravec said in an interview earlier this month.
Now, a developer has applied to build a 10-unit apartment complex on the lot next door.
Moravec said the three-storey building will block views, sunlight and take away their privacy. She's also worried about how the increased population will impact existing sewer and water issues.
One of the Valley Line South LRT stations, which went into operation in late 2023, is located a few blocks away. She said that has added to congestion in the neighbourhood.
"This is our home and now we have downtown coming to the neighbourhood," Moravec said.
The Woodvale community was developed in the 1970s and early '80s as a mix of single-detached homes, row housing and walk-up apartments, according to the city. Moravec said she recognizes the need for diverse housing types but said other neighbourhoods might be more suitable for high-density developments.
Moravec started a petition to stop the development; as of Friday, more than 300 people had signed it.
Cooper said these developments can be difficult for neighbours.
"That will always be a tension. That's not unique to Edmonton. That's really a national tension if you look at it, when we look at the integration of transit and housing."
Generational lifestyle shift
Niraj Nath, president and founder of NDura Developments, focuses on building multi-family infill housing in Edmonton's west end.
Business is up 300 per cent this year, he said. In 2024, he built 10 units of row housing. This year he's building 30 units within eight-plexes.
He credits the city's revised zoning bylaw as the impetus for more permits but also points out 70 per cent of his projects are within a kilometre of the Valley Line West LRT.
"I think there's a lot of long term generational benefits to the LRT," he said. "We're the generation that has to make that change but I think it's really been a catalyst for a lot of the development that we're seeing in the neighbourhoods we're developing in."
Nath, who grew up in the west end, said the changes in housing type around transportation routes is part of a growing city.
When he started 10 years ago, people in traditional single-family home neighbourhoods questioned the style and density of skinny home infill and townhouses. He says people eventually came around.
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