Box stores, townhouses and an urban village could be in the future of South Campbell Park according to a draft plan for its development.
About 45 people visited Apex Casino Wednesday night for an open house on plans to develop South Campbell Park. This 30-some hectare site is framed by Boudreau Road, Campbell Road, Veness Road and Anthony Henday Drive. Apex Casino and Campbell Liquor store are also situated there.
This is a highly visible site with plenty of potential, said David Schoor, senior planner with ISL Engineering & Land Services. "It's a gateway to St. Albert."
Schoor presented a draft area structure plan that would see about 40 per cent of the region allocated for commercial development. The plan also has two blocks of townhouses in the east near Veness Road. At two-to-three stories each, Schoor said, those townhouses would likely hold 150 to 400 people.
Connecting the two and abutting the casino would be a T-shaped urban village, Schoor said, one that emphasizes green space and local shopping. Buildings would peak at five stories in height with stores at ground level and residences above. "Our goal is to create a vibrant neighbourhood."
This urban village concept is a fantastic idea, said Coun. Cathy Heron, and draws on some of the best principles of smart growth. "It gives people shopping where they are living," she said.
Local resident Phil Meagher wondered if anyone would want to live in homes fenced in by warehouses, train tracks and the Anthony Henday. "Sticking it way off [to the side] like that more or less creates a ghetto," he says. "I can't see that as being an attractive area to live."
Urban village
South Campbell is zoned for light and medium industrial development under its current area structure plan, Schoor said, which was drafted in the 1980s. The city asked area landowners to revise that plan so it works with the current municipal development plan.
Former site owner Qualico made many attempts to develop South Campbell over the years, according to Gazette records, proposing everything from a high-tech urban village to an arena. The site is now being developed by a group of owners that includes Bruce and Perry McPherson, who own Apex Casino, and Lyndon Decore of Decore Development Management.
The new owners are focused on commercial development, said Decore, who is managing the project, not residential. "The people who live on the east side of St. Albert are underserviced in their shopping needs," he says and have to truck over to St. Albert Trail to buy anything. This site would create a village-like, walkable place that would give people a place to shop and draw more people to the casino.
Local businesses have wanted this site developed for years, said Coun. Malcolm Parker, and this plan could draw much needed business and industry to the city. He questioned why the developer wanted townhouses in this area, given that it was mostly zoned industrial and commercial. "How does that fit with the overall concept?"
Meagher, who lives nearby in Akinsdale, said he was concerned about the plan's effect on traffic. "It's already a very busy area," he said, with semi-trucks a frequent sight. "If you have children living in that high-density residential area, you've got a safety problem because they'll be running across Boudreau and running across Campbell."
Decore said his team was still working on a detailed traffic study but already plan to build new access roads to Campbell and Boudreau to handle the traffic.
Decore said his team would now revise the plan based on feedback and hold a second open house on it this summer. He expected it to go to council this fall.
Anyone with questions should contact Schoor at 780-438-9000.
