BLOSSOMING IN VIC PARK

Proposed downtown condo project will include apple orchard
BY DYLAN ROBERTSON
CALGARY HERALD JULY 15, 2014

Fresh apples will be ripening between two downtown condominium towers as a developer aims to give Calgary a more fruitful and dynamic city centre.

The Orchard on Twelfth is a two-tower project at the southeast corner of 12th Avenue and 5th Street S.E., just northeast of Stampede Park. Lamb Development Corp. of Toronto is planning two 31-storey buildings, which will nestle a one-acre orchard of apple trees between them on a 61,000-square-foot land parcel.

“Not only is this a public and private amenity for the city, but also a true green feature; not a stupid green roof that really in the end doesn’t do much,” said company head Brad Lamb. “It’s a phenomenal thing to have in a city, and it’s going to produce tens of thousands of apples which are going to be eaten.”

The company commissioned an Ipsos Reid survey last month which polled 1,000 Americans and 1,000 Canadians, asking them to guess the location from a digital rendering of the project with its apple orchard. Most Canadians thought the image was in Vancouver or Toronto, placing Calgary seventh out of 13 possibilities; Americans thought of Portland or New York and placed Calgary 12th.

The same poll found that 93 per cent of North Americans — especially younger adults — want greener downtowns, and would welcome projects that delivered food.

“I always try to deliver, if I can, a public amenity that the city will enjoy and the residents will enjoy,” Lamb said, comparing the Orchard on Twelth with another property his corporation is developing, 6th and Tenth, which will include a fountain park. “Our cities aren’t green enough, visually and for taking in C02.”

Richard Cho, senior market analyst with Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., says the projects are part of an ongoing build up in new Calgary condominiums.

“We had lower inventory and now we see that being made up for,” said Cho. He noted that in last year’s January to June period, construction started for only 1,004 apartments. In the same months this year, the city netted some 4,010 starting units, and Cho says more are anticipated.

Alberta isn’t known for its apple orchards but Lamb said an agricultural firm has chosen tree species that can grow edible fruit in the area. A third party will be paid to prune the trees and harvest the fruit for sale or donation.

But for Lamb, the buildings themselves are more interesting.

“They’re rectangular, simple in design, but they’re super clean and super modern,” he said. “We’re delivering beautiful architecture and affordable apartments; these two buildings are spectacular in their own right.”

Units will range from $249,900 for one-bedroom apartments to over a million dollars for larger units. Lamb says those prices are competitive with Beltline properties. The project will cost $130 million with $170 million in expected revenue, he said.

An older house on the block will be demolished, while buildings on the fifth of the block not owned by Lamb Development will remain in place.

Lamb says his company is currently waiting for a permit, but he expects ground to be broken within the year as no zoning exception is needed. He expects the first phase to open in about three and a half years, followed by the second about five years from now.