SVS Developments is a real estate development company that develops and manages residential properties throughout Edmonton.

In 2022, SVS hired Situate as their planning consultant to conduct a zoning analysis for their property in Strathcona and to manage the rezoning of the site to allow for a six-storey multi-unit housing development. The site had been previously rezoned in 2020 to a direct control provision to allow for a six-storey building with required commercial space on the main floor. The application to rezone the site to a direct control provision was submitted shortly before significant amendments were made to Edmonton’s missing middle zones to make them work better for more types of development. 

Situate determined that rezoning the site to the RA8 (medium rise apartment) zone would be optimal, based on: 

• City Plan policy that encourages higher density on Whyte Avenue and 99 Street; and 
• The surrounding properties were largely zoned RA8.

Rezoning to RA8 would also allow the flexibility to change the building design as market needs and material costs change, facilitating the development of a site that had been vacant for years.

Despite opposition from the Strathcona Community League, Situate’s rezoning application was unanimously approved by City Council on May 15, 2023 (see Item 3.8 in the meeting minutes). As a result, SVS will be able to construct a building that will provide housing for a variety of Edmontonians looking to live in a mature neighbourhood near schools, parks, and commercial amenities.