Overview
The Pelican Place project is a feasibility study and schematic design exercise exploring development options for a vacant 31m × 69m infill site in central Sylvan Lake, Alberta — steps from the Sylvan Lake Family Health Centre and within easy walking distance of downtown and the waterfront. Designated as a Direct Control district by the Town of Sylvan Lake, the site presented a unique opportunity for a higher-density, amenity-rich development in an established commercial node.
Design Challenge
The Direct Control designation required close engagement with the Town's planning process to understand what would and would not be supported on the site. Multiple development scenarios needed to be evaluated comparatively — against each other, against the Land Use Bylaw, and against the Alberta Building Code — to identify the option that best maximized the site's potential for the developer's objectives.
Design Response
The proposed concept developed through the study is a four-storey building combining one- and two-bedroom condominium apartments with ground-floor commercial units, a daycare, a fitness room, and a shared common area, supported by both surface and underground parking. PiXEL's scope included zoning and building code review, programming analysis, identification of site constraints, development of alternative preliminary design schemes with project statistics, and a schematic design report prepared for the developer's discussions with the Town planning team and project financing — providing a clear, well-documented basis for moving the project forward.