No plans to give top-of-bank access to the public
Despite considerable opposition, Edmonton City Council unanimously approved a rezoning application for the Soaring property, in Brander Gardens, clearing the way for Scandinave Group to build a private spa on the site.
Former NHLer Vincent Damphousse – the co-founder, majority owner and executive chairman of Scandinave Group – appeared before Council to support the $37.5 million project. He said the group started with a spa at Mont-Tremblant, in Quebec, in 1999. They expanded to Ontario’s Blue Mountain in 2006, to Old Montreal in 2009 and to Whistler in 2010. He called Soaring a breathtaking spot and said a spa will provide good jobs and boost the local economy.
The application was supported by the City of Edmonton’s destination marketing organization, Explore Edmonton, and by Edmonton Global, which works to attract investment to the region. “This is an economic opportunity that provides the visitor economy with more selection,” said Edmonton Global’s CEO, Malcolm Bruce.
Ward pihêsiwin Councillor Tim Cartmell also supported the project. “There’s really just an abundance of positives here that, for me, really outweigh the potential negatives,” he told CBC.
But several people opposed to the project also presented to Council. They focused on the ecological integrity of the river valley, on public access to the top of the riverbank, on increased traffic and on the exclusivity inherent in a luxury spa.
The land is zoned Rural Residential, but Council’s decision will switch that to Direct Control, which will allow Scandinave to build to a maximum height of 16 metres.
The 4.8-hectare Soaring property, on Whitemud Road, was donated to the University of Alberta in 2010 by businessman and philanthropist Sandy MacTaggart and his wife, Cecile. At that point, the estate was valued at $26 million. For a time, the university used it to host events and special occasions, but ultimately determined the property was not essential to academic purposes. The original home was demolished in 2018 and the property has sat vacant since then.
In the fall of 2022, the university asked the University of Alberta Properties Trust (UAPT) to redevelop the property. UAPT has a mandate to make a financial return to the university, but it has also always said it wants to ensure any development works for the community.
The development is opposed by the Edmonton River Valley Conservation Coalition and by the Confederacy of Treaty Six First Nations. The Confederacy’s executive director, Kayli Avveduti, cited concern over the sale of river valley land to private owners and the lack of First Nations input in the decision making.
Local resident Deann Stein Hasinoff also spoke against the development, highlighting the need to minimize the impact of development on the river valley and expressing concern about uplighting, fencing and building height.
“It is disappointing that once again a Brander Gardens property is considered an exception to the top-of-bank policy,” she said, referring to the City’s Policy C542, which requires all new or redeveloping areas abutting the river valley to separate development from the valley. “We have a mixed population both socio-economically and in terms of age, with many residents choosing to age-in-place. I know residents who, as they age, find it difficult to walk into and out of the river valley but they love being in proximity to it. While the city plans to exercise its option to purchase the 10-metre strip of land to hopefully build stairs and a safer access point down into the valley, it is giving up the opportunity to build a top-of-bank pathway.”
Scandinave has plans for patio space at the top of bank, with glorious views of the river valley stretching out to the west, but no public access is in the plans for the approximately 200-metre stretch that runs along the Soaring property. “Whether in the valley or looking down onto it, this is an opportunity to give this to all residents of the community, not just those who can afford to use the spa,” said Stein Hasinoff.