City looking into permits for Fox Two sales office on 104th Street
The City of Edmonton is looking into the permits required to operate a sales office for a condominium project which extends across a sidewalk onto a busy downtown street.
The Fox Two sales office has a trailer with a remodeled interior resembling a condo unit on the far right southbound lane of 104th Street between 102nd and 103rd Avenues. The site is also occupied by scaffolding, portable toilets and parked work trucks.
Graham Construction, which pays to rent the stretch of sidewalk and road from the city, was issued an on-street construction and maintenance permit on Dec. 21, 2012.
The permit is valid until Nov. 25, 2017. The company, which is building the 33-storey Fox Two tower, also has a hoarding permit to fence off an enclosure.
Neither permit directly allows for the sales office, said Gord Cebryk, the city's parks and roads services branch manager.
"They're intended to address the disruption on the roadway or accommodate the construction of the building," Cebyrk said Wednesday. "They're not specifically intended to deal with the business portion."
He said it's unclear whether an additional permit is required for the sales office. If it is, whether it's already in place is also unclear.
"It may be possible they may need a development permit," Cebyrk said. "If it's not in place, we'll make sure it gets attended to."
A development permit would be issued by the city's sustainable development department.
Neither Graham Construction, nor developer Langham Developments, responded to the CBC's request for comment.
Pedestrian safety concerns
Jen Calvano works in the area. She recently witnessed an incident that gave her cause for concern about pedestrian safety.
"The other day there was a blind gentleman walking down the road," Calvano said. "He clearly thought that there was a sidewalk there when there wasn't. One of the construction workers actually came out and led him to the sidewalk."
Calvano said the real problem is that the sidewalk has been blocked for well over a year — and in the downtown hustle and bustle, people don't take the time to cross the street to avoid the obstacle before crossing back over.
"There's a good chance for a collision or hitting a pedestrian," she said Wednesday evening, minutes before a man began walking alongside the construction site on the road in the dark.
Dayna Kopp only recently moved to the area. She said the construction has been going on longer than she expected, but it hasn't really cramped her routine.
"It's been a little bit more permanent than I thought," Kopp admitted.
So permanent, in fact, that Michael Wilson, who works nearby, said construction in the area is just par for the course. He didn't even notice the sales office.
"I've been crossing the street when I walk down," he said.
"There's a lot of construction in this area anyway … It's just sort of the norm."
Fox Two is almost sold out. A poster inside the door of the sales office indicated Wednesday evening that fewer than 20 of the 170 or so units were still up for grabs.
Cebryk said he didn't know when the sales office opened.
"It's a matter of making sure that the permits are in place and the area is safely contained for pedestrians and provides that division of space between vehicles," he said.
"We'll ensure that the OSCAM permit is in place, that the hoarding permit is in place, and if the development permit is required, we'll ensure that's there as well."
