Two potential, and contentious, projects for the Riverview area were under the microscope Tuesday evening at a public open house.
The meeting, at Don Ross Centre, was to provide information on the microbrewery proposal for the old armoury building on 102nd Street, as well as a separate proposal to repurpose the nearby Vida McDonald Centre on 103rd Street into an eight-unit apartment complex. Both buildings were formerly occupied by Battlefords Trade and Education Centre, who moved to their new facility in October.
The open house was put together to address a number of concerns Riverview residents have expressed about both proposals.
At a council meeting March 13, councillors heard concerns about including "tavern" as a discretionary use for the 102nd Street property, with residents saying it would bring crime, parking and safety issues and reduced property values.
As for the apartment project, a vote on a discretionary use application was tabled to March 27 after letters were received at City Hall expressing concern about traffic, safety and impacts to property values.
At their planning committee meeting Monday, administration made it known they believed there were misconceptions about both projects that had to be cleared up.
The sense was that more information might help ease the concerns in Riverview.
"We want people to understand that it's not the 'shady tavern' they’re worried it’s going to be," said Jennifer Niesink, director of Planning and Development, at the Monday meeting.
Based on the immediate reaction at the open house, it seemed many residents had been thrown off by the inclusion of the word "tavern" in the zoning bylaw. A few were surprised to learn the "bar" proposal they had heard about was actually a microbrewery.
The brewery proposal is backed by local investors Brad Taylor and Gregg Tady. Both entrepreneurs had previously been in business with Advantage Powder Coating in the city.
Taylor explained that initially they saw an opportunity to save a historic building.
“It all started when we looked at this building that was for sale,” said Taylor.
“Once we realized what type of building this was behind all the peeling paint and peeling stucco, we thought, ‘this is a beautiful building, and it has to be restored. We can’t let a wrecking ball hit this building.’”
The idea of having a craft brewery came later on, and was based in part on other craft breweries that have been set up inside historic buildings elsewhere. Pictures of craft breweries in historic buildings were shown at the open house, to give people a better idea of the concept.
Taylor was happy to share their ideas with the public and answer any questions, because it was their desire to be “good neighbours” and bring a good product to the area.
“There’s lots of craft breweries popping up. We can make it local made. We want the community to support it and we’ll give back to the community, and that’s why we came up with this idea,” said Taylor.
Most of the facility would be devoted to manufacturing the craft beer, and a tasting area is also planned. The "tavern" portion will actually consist of a sit-down restaurant area, where beer made at the facility will be served, along with food. Parking stalls would go on both sides of the structure.
As for specifics of what will be inside, Taylor said the project is still in its infancy stage. The main job in the short term will be the restoration, which will take a year to complete.
For the project at the Vida McDonald Centre, the existing building will be transformed into apartment units, each of which would have separate outdoor access and two parking stalls.
"We’re taking the empty space and redeveloping it into eight suites,” said Daniel Amero, project manager. There would be boiler heating and 11-foot ceilings inside, as well.
If the discretionary use application goes ahead, its anticipated construction will take five to eight months.
There was “a need in that neighbourhood for rental units,” Amero said, who said it would be a great fit for the area and “better than having an empty building around.”
The next step is for both the zoning bylaw amendment and the discretionary use application, to come back to council Monday for further discussion. Administration also planned a full report to council about the feedback and reaction they received to the proposals shown at the Tuesday open house.
