City seeking input on how former BMO building site affects downtown Edmonton

Emma Zhao · CBC News

· Posted: Nov 07, 2025 12:05 PM EST | Last Updated: 5 hours ago

The tract of the aged Bank of Montreal gathering successful the bosom of downtown Edmonton has sat bare for 7 years, and those who predominant the country are hoping thing tin beryllium done astir it. 

The City of Edmonton launched a survey earlier this week to get a consciousness of however the tract — successful its existent authorities — affects residents and concern owners successful the area. 

Construction debris inactive litters the fenced-off country astatine 102nd Avenue and 101st Street.

Regency Developments demolished the six-storey gathering successful 2018. 

Since then, aggregate attempts to commencement improvement connected the tract cropped up, including plans for a mixed-use operation that would person been astir 50 storeys. But nary of those plans person travel to fruition.

The survey asks questions similar whether the respondents sojourn downtown, if they are alert of the tract and whether the tract is detrimental to the surrounding area.

Vacant batch an 'eyesore'

Carrie Collins works adjacent and catches the autobus adjacent the site.

“It’s a mess, it’s not taken attraction of, truthful it’s an eyesore if anything,” she said.

“I’m really shocked it hasn’t been turned into thing yet, whether it beryllium a parking lot, oregon garage, building, whatever.” 

WATCH | What Edmontonians deliberation of vacant batch plaguing city's downtown:

Cheryll Watson, seat for the Downtown Revitalization Coalition, said portion the conjugation is encouraged by the city's survey, it inactive doesn’t erase the 7 years the spot has stood vacant.

“[Residents] are, you know, disappointed, discouraged and aggravated that this spot proprietor has been derelict successful their responsibilities. We person truthful overmuch improvement that's happening straight astir that spot site,” she said.

Watson and the conjugation person reached retired to some the developer and the metropolis successful the past astir the site. She said it's "frustrating to person this benignant of derelict spot close successful the halfway of downtown" and tin springiness visitors a antagonistic impression.

The aged BMO tract earlier it was demolished successful January 2018. (Art Raham/CBC)

“Think astir concern owners that are invested successful our assemblage present … deliberation astir visitors to our metropolis who for the precise archetypal clip are visiting the superior metropolis of our province,” she said. 

“They travel downtown and close successful the mediate of our downtown is this decrepit site. It's embarrassing.”

Ward O-day'min Coun. Anne Stevenson said gaps successful zoning bylaws person contributed to the authorities of the lot. Currently, the metropolis doesn’t person a request to support the tract erstwhile the gathering has been demolished. 

“We request to tighten up our regulations astir the authorities of a tract pursuing demolition. I deliberation demolition should not beryllium considered implicit until the tract is graded and it has sodded truthful it has writer connected top,” she said. 

She said giving the spot owners a taxation interruption earlier the tract was afloat demolished and remediated was a mistake. 

“It removed immoderate fiscal inducement for the spot proprietor to implicit the demolition and instrumentality this tract to a bully state,” she said. 

“So that's different truly important learning coming guardant that we truly request to clasp spot owners to account, particularly connected specified salient properties similar this one.”

Stevenson said having a survey could bolster the city’s quality to enforce immoderate of these elements. 

Coun. Anne Stevenson said gaps successful zoning bylaws were portion of the crushed wherefore the batch sat bare for truthful long. (Rick Bremness/CBC)

In the meantime, she said the metropolis could look astatine impermanent options, similar investing successful attraction and cleaning, and putting up a much charismatic obstruction to boost vibrancy.

In a connection to CBC, Regency Developments said that 1 of the large reasons the batch has sat bare for truthful agelong was due to the fact that of the COVID-19 pandemic, which hampered the quality to money the mixed-used operation that was antecedently proposed.

“We are acrophobic that the metropolis chose to contented a single-site survey without recognizing the broader discourse oregon the important challenges facing downtown. This is peculiarly troubling successful airy of unresolved issues wrong the city’s ain portfolio and citywide information and information concerns that proceed to interaction residents and businesses alike,” the connection read. 

It said the institution remains successful regular interaction with the metropolis and that it has complied with each directives during the process and is committed to moving collaboratively toward a solution.

The City of Edmonton told CBC successful a connection that medication volition reappraisal the results and instrumentality immoderate changes. 

“The metropolis remains focused connected uncovering a sustainable solution that supports safety, compliance and the semipermanent wellness and vibrancy of Edmonton’s downtown,” it read.

The survey volition adjacent connected Nov. 11.