BILD Edmonton hopes to reset public conversation around infill builds
Posted April 16, 2026 6:02 pm.
A group of Edmonton builders is hoping to reset the conversation around infill in the city to push back against recent backlash.
BILD Edmonton Metro published a 22-point plan to improve infill in Alberta’s capital, including a push for clear regulations, streamlining approvals and permitting timelines, and better communication with residents, businesses and community organizations.
“When it boils down to it, everybody that’s involved in this plan wants predictability,” said Sydney Bond, the group’s committee chair. “We need consistency. Then neighbours know what to expect, builders know what they’re going to do, and that’s the source of a lot of the solutions here.”
Jan Hardstaff, with a group calling for more oversight on the planning and design of infill in the Aspen Gardens neighbourhood, is pleased with the commitment to more communication.
“They recognized that residents and communities need to be considered stakeholders,” said Hardstaff, a member of the Residential Infill Working Group.
“I think right now, residents of communities feel like they’re on the outside looking in. They want to be involved in planning their neighbourhoods.”
BILD Edmonton acknowledges the public backlash in the development, including a police investigation into a string of arsons targeting under-construction infills.
“There’s an active investigation underway between Fire Rescue Services and Edmonton police, so we’ve been willing partners,” said BILD CEO Kalen Anderson. “Our infill builders have been, of course, very concerned, not just about their own projects, but about the impact that this might have on the communities within which they’re building.”
BILD Edmonton says infill isn’t going anywhere, and the group plans to accelerate building 50 per cent of new housing through infills, which is part of the city plan.
“We as an industry have to be sure that we understand these concerns,” said Nicholas Carels, the vice-president of Streetside Development. “We do the best we can to address them. Will it ever be perfect? No, construction is imperfect.”
For Hardstaff, this is a step in the right direction.
“There needs to be some serious improvements to trust, dialogue, and communication between the city and residents and communities.”
BILD Edmonton hopes the city takes inspiration its their plan to reset the conversation over the next two years.
