Edmonton city councillors have approved a rezoning application, allowing the George Spady Society to move its medically supported detoxification unit.
At a public hearing held Tuesday morning, no one signed up to speak either for or against the move.
The detox unit will move from 100 Street and 105A Avenue to 156th Street on Stony Plain Road.
In an email, George Spady Society CEO Lorette Garrick told Global News the move is to add capacity to the current operations.
The rezoning was required as the zoning only allowed for a 1,000-square-metre healthcare facility. Now it will be zoned for 2,000 square metres.
Garrick told council the current supervised consumption site downtown will not be moving to the new building as it does not allow for that service.
“At some point we will be moving the supervised consumption site but we’re not ready to do that work yet, nor do we have another location for it,” Garrick said.
The site will stay open downtown for about a year, but the George Spady Society would not release details on what will happen to it after that.
According to Alberta Health Services, the Spady site is one of three in Edmonton.
The others are at the Royal Alexandra Hospital and the Radius Community Health and Healing centre at 106th Avenue and 96th Street.
Supervised consumption sites have been a contentious issue in Alberta.
Last Thursday, a public hearing in Red Deer saw speakers debate the closure of that city’s overdose prevention site.
Businesses complained of broken windows and other disorder since the site was opened.
Councillors agreed to ask the provincial government to close the site and replace it with more detox capacity and treatment beds.
The request would see the site close by the end of 2025.
New space for the George Spady detox centre on Stony Plain Road in Edmonton. February 2024.
Global News