Site of 1st Catholic school on Edmonton's south side to be rezoned for retail, residential units

A development company has big plans for a property that contains the first Catholic school ever built on Edmonton's south side.

Pending a rezoning application, the company is looking at placing new commercial retail tenants in the St. Anthony School building in Old Strathcona, parts of which were built 118 years ago.

On the same property as the St. Anthony building, the site's owner, Beljan Development, also intends to construct a residential complex up to 30 metres tall.

"Just to the west and south of the [St. Anthony] building, we are planning to do a residential development that will be upwards of eight stories," Leah Kinsella, development manager for Beljan Development, said.

The proposed zoning for the historic building does not guarantee its preservation, but Kinsella said that the company will "preserve the [St. Anthony] building in its entirety."

Kinsella said that the company will try to keep the historic building's footprint, envelope, and general integrity while looking at options to accommodate new commercial retail tenants inside.

"We're preserving the building, but we're working through the tenant mix right now, just in terms of how many tenants we can fit into that building and what type of tenants we are interested in putting there."

Kinsella said in an email that the company is considering independently initiating the process to historically designate the original St. Anthony School.

Beljan Development has already redeveloped similar officially designated municipal and provincial historic resource buildings in Edmonton.

Kinsella said that the company's experience redeveloping historical buildings has given them a good idea of the due diligence needed for this type of project.

"Our bread and butter has historically been acquiring buildings that are either on the historic inventory or are already designated as historic buildings." 

In a statement, the City of Edmonton said it is currently analyzing the zoning application for the building and evaluating it against city policies, technical considerations like drainage and transportation, and public input.

Once this analysis is complete, the rezoning application, with the city's recommendation whether or not to support it, will advance to a city council public hearing for a decision.

The city said that if city council approves the rezoning, the next step for Beljan Development would be to apply for development and building permits to begin construction.