LOFT HOUSING IN EDMONTON'S DOWNTOWN WAREHOUSE DISTRICT: A FEASIBILITY STUDY AUG 1 1 1992 /diberia MUNICIPAL AFFAIRS Innovative Housing Grants Program LOFT HOUSING IN EDMONTON'S DOWNTOWN WAREHOUSE DISTRICT: A FEASIBILITY STUDY May 1991 Prepared for: Edmonton Downtown Development Corporation By: Cory Cunningham Architect Ltd. Development Consulting Group Inc. The views and conclusions expressed and the recommendations made in this report are entirely those of the authors and should not be construed as expressing the opinions of Alberta Municipal Affairs. With funding provided by Alberta Municipal Affairs ISBN: 0-88654-351-7 FOREWORD The project documented in this report received funding under the Innovative Housing Grants Program of Alberta Municipal Affairs. The Innovative Housing Grants Program is intended to encourage and assist housing research and development which will reduce housing costs, improve the quality and performance of dwelling units and subdivisions, or increase the long term viability and competitiveness of Alberta's housing industry. The Program offers assistance to builders, developers, consulting firms, professionals, industry groups, building products manufacturers, municipal governments, educational institutions, non-profit groups and individuals. At this time, priority areas for investigation include building design, construction technology, energy conservation, site and subdivision design, site servicing technology, residential building product development or improvement and information technology. As the type of project and level of resources vary from applicant to applicant, the resulting documents are also varied. Comments and suggestions on this report are welcome. Please send comments or requests for further information to: Innovative Housing Grants Program Alberta Municipal Affairs Housing Division Research and Technical Support 16th Floor, CityCentre 10155-102 Street Edmonton, Alberta T5J 4L4 Telephone: (403)427-8150 CONSULTANT TEAM MEMBERS Architect: Cory Cunningham Architect Ltd. 1502, 101 17 Jasper Avenue Edmonton, Alberta. T5J 1W8 Marketing Consultant: Development Consulting Group Ltd. 400, 1455 West Georgia Street Vancouver, B.C. V6G 2T3 Structural Consultant: Jacobsen & Hage Engineering Ltd. 202, 10459 - 178 Street Edmonton, Alberta. T5S 1R5 Mechanical Consultant: Steinbrenner Consulting Engineers Ltd. 9646 54 Avenue Edmonton, Alberta. T6E5V1 Electrical Consultant: Beaubien Engineering Ltd. 9646 54 Avenue Edmonton, Alberta. T6E5V1 Cost Consultants: Bamett Treharne Yates Ltd. 308, 10328 - 8 1 Avenue Edmonton, Alberta. T6E 1X2 Stuart Olson Construction Ltd. 12836 146 Street Edmonton, Alberta. T5L3H7 Development Advisor: The Amadon Group 508, Price Waterhouse Building 601 West Hasting Street P.O. Box 81 Vancouver, B.C. V6B 5A6 Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015 https://archive.org/details/lofthousinginednnOOcory TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES iii LIST OF TABLES iv EXECUTIVE SUMMARY v SECTION ONE: INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 Purpose of the Study 3 1.2 Study Scope and Focus 4 1.3 Study Methodology 5 1.4 Report Organization 6 SECTION TWO: LOFT HOUSING IN WESTERN CANADIAN CITIES... 7 2.1 550 Beatty Street, Vancouver, B. C 9 2.2 41 Alexander Street, Vancouver, B. C 12 2.3 The Ashdown Warehouse, Winnipeg, Manitoba 14 2.4 Other Examples 17 SECTION THREE: THE EDMONTON MARKET 19 3.1 Comparable Projects 21 3.2 Market Survey Methodology and Demographics 22 3.3 Focus Group Preferences 25 3.4 Recommended Development Programme 31 SECTION FOUR: THE PHYSICAL CONTEXT 33 4.1 The Adjacent Core Area 35 4.2 Study Area Land Uses 38 4.3 Circulation Systems 40 SECTION FIVE: PUBLIC POLICY INFLUENCES 43 5.1 Municipal Plans 45 5.2 Land Use Bylaw 46 5.3 Building Codes 47 5.4 Heritage Designation 48 5.5 Area Improvements 49 5.6 Other Inducements 50 5.7 Other Public Policy Influences 51 SECTION SIX: PROSPECTIVE BUILDINGS 53 6.1 Study Area Survey 55 6.2 Building Descriptions 56 6.3 Comparative Rating of Buildings 59 SECTION SEVEN: A CASE STUDY: THE SHAW BUILDING 63 7.1 The Existing Building and Its Condition 65 7.2 Building Code Analysis 74 7.3 Proposed Redevelopment 75 7.4 Commercial Space - Another Development Option 84