Edmonton’s first Nordic spa might land at former Mactaggart property

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Edmonton could finally get its first Nordic spa if a rezoning application is approved.

The application was submitted Sept. 16 on behalf of Scandinave Group Inc. to rezone 5440 Whitemud Rd. and 5450 Whitemud Rd. If approved, the new spa would be located at Soaring, the famed former modernist mansion of Sandy and Cécile Mactaggart in the Brander Gardens neighbourhood.

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Sandy Mactaggart, who died in 2017, gifted the 10-acre property, which backs onto the North Saskatchewan River, to the University of Alberta more than a decade ago. The U of A tried to use the property as an event space but stopped as operational fees ballooned, causing the University of Alberta Property Trust (UAPT) to consider selling the land roughly three years ago, according to UAPT president and CEO Greg Dewling.

“Our view is that this is a win for the city of Edmonton and a really nice use for that special piece of property,” said Dewling.

The house was custom-built for the Mactaggarts in 1959 by an architecture colleague of Sandy Mactaggart’s from Harvard. At the heart of the iconic house was an indoor swimming pool that Mactaggart was fabled to have swung into on a rope after jumping from a second-floor balcony.

The house was torn down in 2021, and the UAPT examined several options for the property, including a residential development, but didn’t have any success. The idea for a Nordic spa came from Scandinave, which reached out to the UAPT directly and expressed interest in the land, eventually putting an offer forward.

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“We were prepared to accept, but they had one condition, of course, and that’s that it could be rezoned for the purposes of building a spa there,” said Dewling.

The rezoning would shift the land from its current designation of rural residential to a direct control zone. The application is currently in the public feedback phase, which will also include an open house on Oct. 29 at the John Janzen Nature Centre (7000 143 St.) in Fort Edmonton Park from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. hosted by the city.

Scandinave operates other Nordic spas in various locations across Canada, including Whistler, Blue Mountain, Old Montreal, and Mont Tremblant.

A previous attempt to build the city’s first Nordic spa (estimated to cost $20 million) was cancelled in 2019 by the developer.

Dewling declined to say what the selling price for the property would be if approved but, in 2010, when the house’s structure still stood, it was valued at $26 million. Dewling said the profits of the land’s sale would go to the university, adding to the roughly $100 million that Mactaggart is estimated to have already contributed to the U of A over the years.

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The property sits in Coun. Tim Cartmell’s Ward pihêsiwin. He’s expressed cautious optimism at the idea.

“I think there’s some interest that it might be kind of a cool thing to do, and a cool amenity for the neighbourhood, and an interesting way to use that space,” he said. “But this is a community that is really dealing with a ton of traffic issues, and so there’s some real trepidation around just what this means going forward.”

Cartmell said he is looking forward to examining the project more whenever it goes before city council but hopes Mactaggart’s contributions to the city would be recognized in some way at the spa if it were to go ahead.

Scandinave spokesperson Marie-Eve Villeneuve said in an email the spa group couldn’t provide details on the project while the rezoning application is still underway but said it is making efforts to consult with the community.

“Our priority is to integrate our new spas seamlessly into the natural environment, preserving the peace and tranquillity of each location,” stated Villeneuve.

So far, there is no schedule for when the application will appear before council.

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