One of the most contentious questions to come before council during its November 3 meeting was a taller-than-allowed design for a new condo project in Inglewood. Avli on Atlantic is a proposed six-storey retail and condo building that will replace the CarStar auto body shop on Ninth Avenue S.E. Avli architect Jeremy Sturgess designed the building to exceed Inglewood’s 20-metre height restriction by 2.5 metres and it was the application to council for a height relaxation that brewed the great Inglewood Storm of 2014.
Council received a petition with 606 signatures in opposition to allowing the building to exceed the height restriction established in an Area Regional Plan created in 1993. Council also received 15 letters from Inglewood residents expressing their concerns with the project and one letter of support. Ultimately the height relaxation was approved.
Opponents of the building say they are not against redevelopment on the site. In fact there are currently three other new buildings planned along Ninth Avenue — all under 20 metres tall — facing no organized opposition. Resident are however opposed to a building that will cast their homes in shadow and be the “thin edge of the wedge” in changing Inglewood’s character.
Inglewood Business Revitalization Zone executive director Rebecca O’Brien says her organization supports the project and loves the design which includes much-needed retail space and a large pedestrian plaza. She says the strongest opposition is from longtime Inglewood residents who want the neighbourhood to retain its small-town historical feel but she hopes they will warm up to the contemporary glass-face design following further public engagement with the architects. Applications for further approvals of the project come before council in March 2015.
