Edmonton city council approves rezoning application for nordic spa development

February 24, 2025 Canuck

After weighing the pros and cons of allowing a nordic spa to be built in southwest Edmonton, city councillors voted unanimously to pass a rezoning application for the project on Monday, allowing it to go forward.

Scandinave Group Inc., which has built similar spas in Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia, has proposed building a nordic spa — Edmonton’s first — in Brander Gardens, right beside the river valley, on land owned by the University of Alberta Properties Trust.

Steve Arsenault, the company’s president and CEO, said the project will include saunas, steam baths, cold plunges and outdoor relaxation areas, among other features.

He said the spa will enhance Edmonton’s reputation as a wellness destination and bring investment dollars, jobs and tourism revenue to the city.

“Through this project, we are committed to hiring locally,” he told councillors during a public hearing on Monday afternoon.

Also speaking in support of the project, Melissa Radu, the executive director of destination stewardship with the marketing organization Explore Edmonton, said the spa would help businesses attract visitors during the slower winter and shoulder seasons.

She said wellness tourists spent more than other visitors, directly benefiting local businesses.

Some critics told councillors the project would harm the environment and questioned how a private facility would benefit the public.

“This will destroy, despite the rhetoric, the rich biodiversity on the property,” said Ramsey Heights resident Gloria Michalchuk.

Arsenault said construction would be carried out with the utmost care to preserve the natural environment and Stantec’s Yolanda Lew, speaking on behalf of Scandinave, said residential construction on the site would lead to the loss of even more trees.

Opposing speakers also brought up concerns about consultation with First Nations and the desire for a public walkway on the top of the bank, overlooking the river.

Tim Cartmell, who represents ward pihêsiwin, where the site is located, said he’s excited about the project, including the possibility of reduced rates for Edmontonians to access the facility at certain times.

“There’s really just an abundance of positives here that, for me, really outweigh the potential negatives,” he said.

Cartmell said if the nordic spa development did not go ahead, the land would be used for residential development.

He said the neighbourhood doesn’t need more housing since more than half of residential units in the Brander Gardens are rentals, the area is denser than most parts of his ward and local schools are overwhelmed.

“This is frankly a better alternative,” he said.

Though Cartmell said he appreciates residents’ concerns about not having a walkway on the west edge of the property, the nordic spa proposal opens up the possibility of building a multi-use path between the Fort Edmonton Footbridge and Whitemud Road.

Through an agreement with the University of Alberta, which would be triggered at the development permit stage, the city could purchase a strip of land along the north property line.

Cartmell’s subsequent motion, to explore ways of creating that trail, also passed on Monday.

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