R esidential intensification
Case Studies
Built Projects
FIFTH STREET LOFTS Edmonton, Alta.
104th Avenue
Developer
Five Oaks Inc.
Date completed
1998
Site area
0.2 ha (0.4 acres)
Number and type of residential units
39 condominium apartments
Floor area
54–103 m2 (580–1,106 sq. ft.)
Gross residential density
195 units per hectare (uph)
Site coverage
Approximately 50 per cent
Maximum height
3 storeys
Landscaped open space
Approximately 10 per cent Figure 1: Fifth Street Lofts, once a clothing manufacturer; more recently, a nightclub
Parking spaces
One space per unit surface parking
Non-residential units Five Oaks Inc. has converted a building used in
None the 1960s by a clothing manufacturer and in the
Pre-development usage 1990s as a nightclub into the Fifth Street Lofts
Clothing manufacturer (1960s); night club (1990s)
housing project of 39 affordably-priced loft-style
Selling price
$49,000 to $75,000
condominiums.
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Project success:
Developer’s perspective
There seemed to be a lack of interesting loft-type
housing to satisfy the niche market…the building
[and land] was inexpensive. Gene Dub
Costs and financing
Development costs
Land $ 300,000 ($11.30/sq. ft.)
Building construction $1,200,000 ($45.70/sq. ft.)
Figure 2: Interior of one of the loft apartments Infrastructure $ 200,000 ($7/sq. ft.)
Total $1,700,000 ($64/sq. ft.)
Project overview
The project was the second residential conversion in The project was financed by conventional bank financing.
Edmonton’s warehouse district, where there had been The City Investment for Downtown Housing program
several non-residential conversions in previous years. granted $4,500 a unit. City Investment is a City of
It was one of the first to introduce small lofts in the Edmonton program to support downtown housing.
area, which is changing from a commercial-industrial
warehouse district to a mixed-use residential and Marketability and profitability
commercial area. Because there was a lack of inexpensive
The project proved to be moderately successful for the
downtown housing and because downtown land and
developer and all units were sold within three months
buildings were inexpensive at the time, the developer
of completion.The project was marketed using
could sell the units at affordable prices. Units have since
advertising in a local guide to condominiums.
doubled in value, reflecting the desire for downtown
housing and the leap in real estate prices in Edmonton
Obstacles
in recent years.
There were no major obstacles to this project and the
This was an early downtown project and land costs site was not contaminated.The building contained some
were low in Edmonton. Unfortunately, this is no longer asbestos, which cost $10,000 to remove.There were
the case. Gene Dub, President, Five Oaks Inc no other major obstacles to the project.The developer
was also the architect and consequently there was
The units are one and two storeys and range from some difficulty in obtaining adequate insurance for the
54 to 103 m2 (580 to 1,106 sq. ft.).Thermally separated project.There was no neighbourhood opposition and
commercial windows improve energy efficiency in the the City was very supportive.
building.The developer made few alterations to the
exterior. Fifth Street Lofts is within walking distance City support
of schools, shopping, movie theatres, a golf course, gyms
The City supported the project by providing the
and restaurants. Bike trails and pedestrian footpaths
downtown housing incentive grant and by quickly
in the North Saskatchewan River valley are within
processing the application for a building permit.
a 10-minute walk.The project has little landscaped
open space but six units have balconies, where there
was a loading dock. Units have large windows and Project success:
residents say there is good natural light in most
units.The City encouraged the project and the City
Residents’ perspective
Investment for Downtown Housing program provided There is a great variety, never a shortage of things
a grant of $4,500 a unit. to do.The locale is perfect. Resident
There were very few obstacles.The major obstacle
was removal of asbestos from the building, which
cost $10,000. Neighbours supported the project.
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Affordability The residents all like the neighbourhood and said
the project is very conveniently located for getting
Selling prices for Fifth Street Lofts units ranged from
to amenities. Some described the neighbourhood as
$49,900 for a 54 m2 (580 sq. ft.) unit to $75,000 for a
"funky," with a good mix of elderly and young people
103 m2 (1,106 sq. ft.) unit. Condo fees range from $82
and plenty of activity.There is a bus stop right outside
to $277 a month.The average resale selling price for
the door of the building and three of four residents
condos in Edmonton in 1998 was $78,534. 1
walk to work.The fourth is retired.This compares
to 16 per cent of Edmonton CMA workers who
Unit selling price walk, bicycle or use public transit to get to work.2
54 m2 (580 sq. ft.) $49,900 All residents surveyed stated that they generally
65 m2 (700 sq. ft.) $56,700 walk to do local shopping or for local entertainment.
90 m2 (966 sq. ft.) $73,000 Some use a car for larger shopping trips.
103 m2 (1,106 sq. ft.) $75,000
Project success: Municipal
All residents surveyed consider their units good value
for money.The value of their real estate has increased
planner’s perspective
dramatically (2.5 times) since purchase in 1999. Planning objectives
The project meets a number of objectives of the City
Design features: Unit size, character, open of Edmonton’s Capital City Downtown Plan (1997),
space, etc. including substantially increasing the downtown
Residents were happy with the size of their homes, residential population over the next eight years.The
primarily because many live alone or without children plan supports a range of housing types, encourages
and "loft living" suits their lifestyles.They were pleased residential development on vacant lands and the
with the overall character and quality of the building conversion of warehouse and office buildings to
and that the developer had retained the original yellow residential use.
brick facade of the building.The building’s large windows
give residents on higher floors great views of downtown The plan proposes a new housing incentive, for three
Edmonton.The large windows on all sides also allow years, in the form of a $4,500 grant for each new unit
plenty of sunlight into the building. built in the downtown. Edmonton’s Warehouse District,
where the project is located, is one of two focus areas
Parking (one space per unit surface parking) was identified for residential growth. Key initiatives include:
considered to be adequate most of the time, although • Conversion to residential development
on weekends there is sometimes not enough space • Creating an urban village concept
for visitors.There is an agreement with a local business • Encouraging mixed use buildings and artist
that makes additional space available from 5 p.m. live/work studios/lofts.
to 8 a.m. Among the few negative comments were
concern about the project’s lack of open space or The Plan resulted in an amendment to the Land
common areas. Also, one resident refered to the Use Bylaw designating downtown as a special
unpleasant noise level from an adjacent building, area containing unique land-use districts (zones).
which is a nightclub. Each zone has been created to encourage a high-quality
built environment. Zoning changes include relaxation of
The neighbourhood and transportation standard regulations for amenity areas, density, floor-
The surrounding neighbourhood is full of apartment area ratios, height, landscaping, parking and setbacks.
buildings, art galleries, retail shops, restaurants and
older homes. Overall it is excellent. Resident
1
CMHC, Prairie and N.W.T. Market Analysis Centre
2
Statistics Canada, 2001 Census
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Lessons learned
Fifth Street Lofts has created affordable, market-based
housing units in an area of downtown that the
municipality has slated for residential intensification.
The project benefited from a generous grant from the
municipality that enabled the developer to be a pioneer
of this type of development in Edmonton.
F U R T H E R I N F O R M AT I O N
Further information can be obtained from:
Developer and Architect: Gene Dub, Five Oaks
Development
Phone: (780) 428-7888
E-mail: dubarch@caisnet.com
Municipal Planner: Peter Odinga, Senior Development
Figure 3: Site plan, Fifth Street Lofts
Officer, Permitting and Licensing, City of Edmonton.
Phone: (780) 496-8485
E-mail: peter.odinga@gov.edmonton.ab.ca
OUR WEB SITE ADDRESS: www.cmhc.ca
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