'Big, beautiful, bold and safe': Downtown developers working on new plan
A group of developers is promising to breathe new life into the core of Alberta's capital city, after a rough two years during the pandemic.
"Tumultuous, painful and difficult," said Puneeta McBryan of the Edmonton Downtown Business Association (DBA) when asked to characterize COVID-19's impact on downtown.
But that tide is turning, she said Thursday, after an announcement that more than 160 Edmonton-area companies have new plans.
“It’s going to take an all-hands-on-deck approach to really revitalize and support community vibrancy,” said Kalen Anderson of Urban Development Institute (UDI).
She said her group's new "all in for downtown" effort will bring more advocacy for urban recovery and long-term investment.
It also includes the promotion of new business and residential development opportunities.
“We’re Canada's fifth-largest city, over a million people. We need to have a big, beautiful, bold and safe downtown,” Anderson said.
Edmontonians are slowly making their way back to the city’s core, McBryan said, but the area needs a lot of TLC first.
“There’s a lot of optimism in the air, but there’s also a lot of work that needs to be done from all levels of government, from the business community,” she said.
Two immediate needs, she believes, are more street-front retail and more bodies to shop in them.
“Those are in my view two of the biggest priorities in order to really get to where we need to get to,” she said.
Coming soon will be a series of actions that will be developed and pursued by UDI and its members.
A big deal, said McBryan, given that some members haven’t previously associated themselves with Edmonton's downtown.
“The fact that they’re going all-in for downtown is huge. Like, that should send a very clear signal to all levels of government, to all Edmontonians, how important it is to our economy, to our tax base, to the spirit of our city, everything.”
With files from CTV News Edmonton's Joe Scarpelli
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Say it to my face': Singh confronts heckling protester on Parliament Hill
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh confronted a protester for calling him a 'corrupted bastard' on Parliament Hill on Tuesday.
Bride's family speaks as West Vancouver woman sentenced for driving SUV into wedding party
Sixty-five-year-old Hong Xu, who drove her SUV into a crowd of people celebrating a wedding at her next-door neighbour's house in West Vancouver on Aug. 20, 2022, has been sentenced under the Motor Vehicle Act for driving without due care and attention.
Why it's 'very hard' to find work in Canada
Vacancies have steadily fallen since the glut of nearly one million open posts in 2022. At the time, one in three businesses had trouble hiring staff due to a labour shortage. Since then, vacancies have dropped.
Hezbollah hit by a wave of exploding pagers and blames Israel. At least 9 dead, thousands injured
Pagers used by hundreds of members of the militant group Hezbollah exploded near simultaneously in Lebanon and Syria on Tuesday, killing at least nine people.
Sean 'Diddy' Combs jailed by judge after sex trafficking indictment
Sean 'Diddy' Combs headed to jail Tuesday to await trial in a federal sex trafficking case that accuses him of presiding over a sordid empire of sexual crimes protected by blackmail and shocking acts of violence.
Canucks' Dakota Joshua reveals he is recovering from cancer
Vancouver Canucks forward Dakota Joshua revealed Tuesday he underwent cancer treatment over the summer, and will not be ready to play when the team's training camp begins later this week.
Two people charged in murder of Halifax teen; police believe remains have been found
Halifax Regional Police believe Devon Sinclair Marsman, who disappeared in 2022, was the victim of a homicide and two people have now been charged in his death.
What is racketeering? The crime, explained
Sex trafficking, cheating scandals and mob activity may appear very different. But all fall under the broad umbrella of racketeering.
Man from Phoenix, Ariz., missing after truck plunges off Yukon bridge
Whitehorse RCMP say a man from Phoenix, Ariz., is missing after the truck he was travelling in went off a bridge and plunged into the Yukon River.