Contentious housing development raises concerns over creosote, not density [Video]

A proposed inner-city apartment complex development by Anthem Properties is raising concerns for some residents of Hillhurst and West Hillhurst.

But it’s not because of density; it’s what lurks below the surface.

“We are determined that no building will take place, no digging will take place, until we have really firm answers,” said resident Helen Henderson.

The proposed three-building, four- to six-storey and 269-unit complex would be built at the old site of the CBC along Westmount Boulevard N.W.

An old wood-preserving facility on the south side of the Bow River that operated for a century left behind around two million litres of creosote.

It seeped into the ground and migrated under the Bow River to the communities on the north side.

The plume, however, is deep beneath the earth’s surface.

“It is quite deep,” said Dr. Court Sandau, an expert in environmental chemistry and owner of Chemistry Matters.

“It sort of follows the bedrock and it’s going to …