City goes ahead with Highlands bridge housing project despite residents’ concerns

Some residents of Edmonton's Highlands neighbourhood want a bridge housing project by Jasper Place Wellness Centre to be put on hold.

City council voted to go ahead with a homeless housing project in the Highlands neighbourhood despite concerns from residents.

The Jasper Place Wellness Centre plans to build a 12-unit “healing house” at the city-owned site at 111 Avenue and 61 Street, where homeless people who have been released from hospital can heal and access support to find permanent housing.

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People who live in the area say they’ve been left in the dark about the project and want their questions answered before it moves forward.

Ward pihêsiwin Coun. Tim Cartmell put forward a motion to defer the sale of the land for further consultation.

“There are people in Highlands that know what might happen here and they are supportive of that,” said Cartmell at Monday’s council meeting. “Imagine if we’d taken the time to tell the entire community back in May what would happen here.”

Ward Dene Coun. Aaron Paquette said the city can’t afford to hold off on housing projects for the homeless.

“While community seeks comfort, people are dying in our streets,” said Paquette. “They are losing limbs, they are dying preventable deaths from untreated mental health issues and addiction. Every delay is not just a process or an exercise, it is another death.”

Councillors ultimately agreed to sell the land for one dollar and provide a grant to the Jasper Place Wellness Centre, which they also did for a site in the Calder neighbourhood in west Edmonton.