Boutiques, cafĂ©s and small, private shops will soon take over what was once part of the original Hole’s greenhouse site.
Boutiques, cafĂ©s and small, private shops will soon take over what was once part of the original Hole’s greenhouse site.
The Shops at Boudreau will include everything from high-end boutiques, to retail and professional services, offices, restaurants and cafés, said Stewart Gillespie, president of Edmonton-based developer Chrisen Realty Corporation.
Gillespie presented his firm’s development plans for 101 Bellerose Drive to city council at a public hearing on Monday night.
“Our sense is that there is not a retail boutique centre in St. Albert and we think that part of the market is rather underserviced at the moment, and location-wise, that is a great site for that,” Gillespie later told the Gazette.
The 5.34 acres will be modeled after Crestwood Centre in Edmonton, another development by Chrisen Realty.
That centre’s tenant list includes a Cobs Bread bakery, a cafĂ© and wine bar and an Italian restaurant. It is also home to a number of small fashion stores, a bank branch, a dentist and a doctor’s office.
The cost of the new project is slated at $26 million. Construction of the site should get underway in late June (pending approval of the development permit by the city), with stores expected to open in the fall of 2014.
Gillespie said he plans to build five buildings on the site, one of them a two-storey building. That building will offer commercial space on the first floor and office space on the second floor, as well underground parking for employees.
Gillespie told the Gazette that his company is currently talking to a local dentist about taking over the office space, as well as to two bakeries for retail space.
“We are looking at some fashion stores, we are dealing with a delicatessen at the moment, we are looking for smaller 40 to 50 seat restaurant opportunities – the butcher, baker, candlestick maker types,” he said.
The former Hole’s site was subdivided into three parcels in 2012. The Shops at Boudreau commercial development is to be located at 101 Bellerose Dr., the lot closest to the corner of Bellerose and Boudreau.
Next door, at 103 Bellerose Dr., a proposed medium to high-density residential development with two apartment buildings is in the works.
The third property at 105 Bellerose Dr. is currently for sale.
Gillespie said he’s working with the developer of 103 Bellerose Dr. to ensure the two projects are complementary in their design and landscaping.
Both sites are intended to be pedestrian-friendly with access to the waterfront, he said.
The city’s engineering department is currently reviewing a traffic impact assessment on the entire former Hole’s site. A traffic light is planned at the intersection of Bellerose Drive and Evergreen Drive.
On Monday, council voted in favour of redistricting 101 Bellerose Dr. from direct control to general commercial. That means the developer is now free to develop the site according to the standards laid out for that designation, instead of asking city council for approval on development details.
Gillespie added that Chrisen Realty worked closely with the Hole family in the design and concept of the site and that the family was “extremely supportive” of the project.
“They certainly indicated that at public hearings that they support the project and we also are working closely with the Hole family in establishing some legacy on the site with respect to Lois,” he told council on Monday.
