EDMONTON, ALBERTA. RFEOI No

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1 EDMONTON, ALBERTA

2 Agora Borealis The intent of this proposal is to provide a template for a vibrant, diverse, sustainable, and economic community benefitting the Montrose and Eastwood neighbourhood, surrounding areas, and the City of Edmonton. Project Description: The Agora View to North/West An open space serving as an assembly area and a place for commercial, civic, social, and religious activities. The Village The development will house 700 families and guests, with a mix of housing options including seniors, student residences, market rental apartments, and a hotel. These neighbours live in an village with commercial amenities varying from a large grocer to boutique shops, and benefit from an easily accessible, well-appointed Community Centre. Streets and buildings are arranged to provide a lively outdoor market square animated with cafes and restaurants. A large retail store is hosted on the north end of the site. Six storey buildings provide market rental and condominiums buffers the market square from south winds. View to West View to South/West The prime south/east corner functions as a medical district, with signage on the three storey medical office buildings taking advantage of available exposure. Offices and labs in these buildings are connected to seniors apartments and suites, housed in the re-purposed Coliseum. View to South/West

3 Site Plan

4 The Coliseum In addition to apartments and suites, the Coliseum houses the hotel portion of this development, with clear lines if sight for brand signage and a climate controlled connection to the Existing Agricom. Hotel and residences surround a verdant atrium, that accommodates student residences in its centre. This creates a circular street ideal for walks to sidewalk cafes and gardens. Light wells are provided to illuminate the larger spaces of the Community Centre below, with abundant parking housed in the perimeter of the building s basement. The planning, design, architecture, yearround accessibility and universal design encourage social cohesion, connecting a diverse community of seniors, families, students, hotel guests, retailers and professionals. Housing will encompass a spectrum of affordability. Transportation and Community Activation This very walkable community benefits from and supports existing LRT and Transportation infrastructure (roads and busses). While vehicular access is excellent, the site is isolated from local vehicular and pedestrian traffic by arterial road and LRT track right of way, which will benefit the development as it takes seed; as the project is built out, bridges across the LRT tracks will re-stitch the blocks to join the neighbourhoods of Montrose and Eastwood, and activate dormant sites in Eastwood. Why keep the Coliseum? Durable and secure, coliseum structures are ideal for many uses. One option is conversion to Multi-Family housing. This has been done before. Successful conversions of these structures into housing occurred

5 during the Middle Ages in a number of European Cities that were part of the Ancient Roman Empire, including Rome (the Colosseum) and Artres, in current France. Where legends once battled, people settled into secure homes, shops, workshops, public gathering and worship space. Budgeting for the conversion of Edmonton s Coliseum is challenging, with few comparable projects. Preliminary budgeting indicates that the cost of this conversion will not exceed replacement value of the facilities it houses. Further exploration of cost savings resulting from reuse of an existing structure and building envelope is merited. Cost of demolition of the existing building and infrastructure and the advantage of a shortened time frame for delivery of housing should also be factored into this equation. Artres, France: 18th Century The creative re-use of this building is the magnet of the development, celebrating the site s history as the heart of the City of Champions and again drawing attention of the country and the world to the Creativity and Vision of Edmontonians. What s next? We propose the following Plan of Action: Stay the Possible Demolition of the Coliseum: Time will be needed to demonstrate that repurposing of the facility to a different use is within compliance of obligations of the City sponsorship agreement. Is repurposing of the structure to an unrelated use the equivalent of demolition in terms of closure of the building as an Entertainment Facility? Continue Consulting with the Community: Talk to residents of Montrose and Eastwood to learn the story of the land and their hopes for their Neighbourhoods. Talk to Citizens of Coliseum Statistics

6 Edmonton and guests from across Canada to share their memories of the Building and how to celebrate them. Develop the Design: Obtain grant funding to do a thorough study of the Planning, Infrastructure, and Architecture of the development, with an eye to obtaining accurate costs and valuations. Rezone the Site: Lock in the vision. Implement the Vision: Vend the site to a not for profit Prime Developer, allowing the transfer of portions of the project to additional Development Partners with obligations to deliver the Design within a set timeline. Team Visioning Session We have the opportunity to create a unique neighbourhood that provides affordable Market Housing, incredible amenities, and honours the legacy of its roots. It is vital that we explore this opportunity before taking steps that are irreversible. Thank you for your outreach for great ideas for this area of our City. We are confident you will find the potential of this proposal as intriguing as we do. Our team is looking forward to working together with the City and Council and Edmontonians to explore it. Best Regards, Team Agora Borealis

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