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City council rejected a recent redevelopment plan for Holyrood on the same LRT line because of community concerns that the residential towers were too tall, but Bonnie Doon, especially along the LRT tracks on 83 Street, has the advantage of being set back two city blocks from the houses along 85 Street.

“Obviously, 85th is not where you’re going to put your super highrises. You’re not going to be looking to shadow that community. You’re going to put lower rise type of development there,” Knowles says.

In the past, several Edmonton malls have been reluctant to work with the city on LRT stations, but Morguard is the opposite, seeing the station as a crucial component of the project. In Coquitlam, B.C., Morguard lobbied hard to have a station put in at a major mall, both so the mall could get more customers and the mass transit line could get more passengers. To entice the city, Morguard offered free land and a subsidy to the local government.

It’s key that the train is running at ground level, Knowles says, as opposed to being elevated, which would greatly limit accessibility: “The feel of it would be totally different.”

That vision is being worked on by both Morguard, but also the community, which is being asked for input.

“We want to understand better how we fit in here and how we can be better connected … because then we’re going to be able to attract local retailers, the local cafes and bakeries and such to be part and parcel of our development,” Knowles says.

If the Bonnie Doon project takes off — and that’s my expectation — it will be a major boost for city council’s LRT ambitions. Just maybe the $3.8 billion investment in the Valley Line will pay off in a denser, more livable city.

dstaples@postmedia.com