Field School: Day 3: Griesbach

I was looking forward to todays excursion to the Village at Griesbach primarily because of my affinity for "colonial-esque" housing design (eg Victorian style, brownstones, etc). I've driven past this development countless times over my years in Edmonton and have slowly watched it develop from the roadside, failing to ever actually enter the community itself.  Getting a guided tour of it was sure to be a treat.

 

Our first stop was the Canada Lands Corporation office located onsite where we were fortunate enough to meet and speak with several key players in the development of this community. I really enjoyed seeing the poster boards they had showing aerial images of the area throughout the years as this provided a detailed view of the transformation that has occurred over the past decades. Their discussion on the proposed LRT/transit hub on the site was also interesting, although I couldn't disagree more with the City's vision.

 

The walking tour of Griesbach was my favorite part of the day and allowed me to see things that I probably would have overlooked if I had simply driven through the neighborhood. Here are some of the highlights:

 

• Architectural controls: There are five architectural controls that the builders had to follow when designing the houses (Craftsman, Victorian, Prairie, Colonial, and Tudor) and there are certain restrictions put in place on how many of the same "types" of houses can be built immediately next to each other. I think architectural controls in a "boutique" neighborhood such as this are really important in order to maintain the character of the area.
• Unfortunately, it was a bit disappointing to hear that once the homes are built, the owner has the ability to make whatever modifications to it without the prior approval of some sort of community board. Essentially, someone can paint their front door neon green or renovate it to look like the Alberta Art Gallery and there is little legal recourse that can be taken. It would be a shame to see this happen, but I guess time will tell. It's interesting how a new area such as Griesbach with "faux-old" houses can face similar issues in regards to architectural controls like actual historic neighborhoods like Westmount.
• Military commemoration: I was pleasantly surprised to see the amount of attention and detail the developers put into commemorating the site's military heritage. I personally think that the younger generations are slowly loosing touch with Canadian military heritage and that creating a permanent space dedicated to Edmonton's military contributions is a great way to preserve the history and educate many of the young families that are moving into the area.
• I thought the "mother-in-law" suites were a great idea on the developers part. I can see how this might be problematic in some neighborhoods, but if enforced properly and in the right neighborhoods, this can be a great feature to add density and appeal.
• It was mentioned that the Griesbach model has been referred to by some of the architects of the city center airport infill project of what they would like to see in the area as opposed to suburban type development. The thought of a suburban style development in the former airport lands is atrocious. However, I can see the appeal of the Griesbach model for this area because of the different types of residential buildings and the mix-densities.
• I thought that the developers did a great job at renovating some of the old military homes to incorporate them into the neighborhoods design. I also liked how they kept some of the old trees by bumping out the sidewalks. Their attention to detail and CPTED when developing some of the walk ways was also evident.