Developer puts Downtown Edmonton BMO land up for sale, asking $6M

For sale signs have gone up on the much-talked-about Downtown site of the demolished Bank of Montreal building.

The site, owned by Regency Developments, is listed by Omada Commercial with an asking price of $6 million.

Omada’s brochure calls the 30,928-square-foot lot at 10199 101 St. NW an “extremely rare opportunity for a developer.”

The property, it says, “is ideally situated in the heart of Edmonton’s financial core and the dense Downtown neighbourhood. This site is an opportunity for a developer to capitalize on our Downtown vibrancy, with walkability to both LRT lines.”

Regency Developments CEO Raj Dhunna said he has no comment about the sale process.

The former BMO lot has become a hot-button topic Downtown. In early November, the city’s problem property initiative released a survey asking for feedback from the public about the site. Dhunna responded by saying that Regency was being unfairly targeted by a city that is still developing the Blatchford site, which has been slow to meet housing goals and has rubble and dirt piles of its own.

Both Ward O-Day’min Coun. Anne Stevenson and the Downtown Revitalization Coalition have been critical of Regency’s handling of the BMO site. It currently has a fence that surrounds a lot filled with concrete rubble. The coalition has stated that the site is

detracting from Downtown

and is impacting the property values of the neighbours.

Before the COVID pandemic struck, Regency had received the green light from the city to build a 50-storey mixed-use tower which would have featured both residential and hotel suites. But Dhunna said that inflation, global-supply chain pressures and the pandemic created an economic perfect storm that no longer made the project feasible. He said that he did not want to demolish the BMO building until the tower project was ready go, but the city had pressured him to hurry demolition in 2018 so it would not interfere with construction of the now-completed LRT line on 102 Avenue.

Stevenson had said the city could have its crew clean up the rubble on the site and bill it back to Regency via its tax roll. Dhunna said the basement location of the old bank vault makes finishing the work on the site a tricky and expensive proposition.

Stevenson said she’s optimistic over the news that the land is now on the market.

“It’s encouraging news and a great first step in transforming this corner into a positive piece for our Downtown,” she said on Tuesday.

Cheryll Watson, the chair of the Downtown Revitalization Coalition, is also enthused by news that the lot is up for sale.

“We’re encouraged that the Regency-owned former BMO site is now on the market, an important opportunity for our Downtown, and one that gives us real optimism about what comes next,” said Watson on Tuesday.

“We hope a new owner will recognize the site’s potential and bring forward a vision that supports economic growth, enhances our Downtown and reflects community needs. Our priority is to see the property revitalized in a way that strengthens the neighbourhood and contributes to the long-term vibrancy of the area. We look forward to engaging with the future owners.”

ssandor@postmedia.com

Related

• ‘Irresponsible’: Downtown developer feels unfairly targeted by city’s ‘problem property’ survey
• Developer says he was told by Edmonton officials to knock down BMO building

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