Ritchie Mill offers private, renovated offices for lease in an original 1892 year stone, brick and timber building in Old Strathcona.

Ritchie Mill, located on Saskatchewan Drive next to End of Steel Park, was one of the first commercial buildings in Edmonton, and originally operated as a flour mill. The building has been preserved and transformed into an office building that retains its original external features. The owner of Ritchie Mill, Steve Hughes, identified an opportunity to expand the building’s office space by building an addition on the north side of the building. The site was under heritage Direct Control zoning that applied to the subject site and two others. This zoning did not allow for the type of expansion envisioned for the building.

Situate was hired as a planning consultant to conduct a zoning analysis for the site, and to manage the rezoning process to allow for the proposed addition to the building. We wrote a new, custom Direct Control zone, which also involved amendments to the Strathcona Area Redevelopment Plan to remove the site from the original heritage zone that included two other properties. Since the building is a designated heritage resource, this work involved the submission of an urban design brief, and discussions and design approval from the City’s heritage planners.

One challenge on the site was a deficiency of water servicing and hydrant infrastructure. Situate managed the process with EPCOR to determine the extent of the infrastructure deficiency, and to solicit and receive an estimate on the cost for upgrades to request an infill fire protection assessment, which ultimately led to having the infrastructure upgrades waived.

Situate’s rezoning application was unanimously approved by Edmonton City Council on June 23, 2021 (see Items 3.16 & 3.17 in the meeting minutes). As a result, Ritchie Mill will continue to be preserved but will now have more space in a new addition designed to contribute to the streetscape of Saskatchewan Drive and the community as a whole.