A new gate for Edmonton’s Chinatown will be receiving help from the Chinese sister-city that inspired the original.
The former Chinatown entrance, known as Harbin Gate, was taken down in 2017 to make way for Valley Line LRT construction.
“The original option was to repurpose it and put it back up somewhere in the immediate vicinity,” explained David Holdsworth, city senior planner.
When that was decided infeasible due to structural issues, the city began looking at other options.
For advice, it turned to the Chinese city of Harbin, which helped Edmonton erect the first gate. In December, a delegation and architect visited Alberta.
“They looked at various options and their architect recommended we embrace what was there before,” Holdsworth recalled. “They indicated it was really an excellent gate in terms of quality and material use.”
Very little has been decided about the new structure. A first draft was presented to the Edmonton Chinese Community on Sunday in an effort to gauge community support for the project.
While the proposed gate takes cues from its predecessor, it only has two legs (as opposed to four) and will likely be made from new materials.
Also, the new, larger Harbin Gate would span 97 Street at Canada Place.
While Harbin has offered design resources for the project, the City of Edmonton has committed to funding the as-of-yet unknown physical costs of building, like materials and construction.
A total budget for the gate will depend on a final design being completed, and whether the city receives either federal and provincial money.
Holdsworth told CTV News the city hopes to have the new gate built by late-2020 for a 35th anniversary of Harbin’s friendship with Edmonton.
“It’d be nice to have something in place at that point,” he said, calling the project an opportunity to acknowledge the Chinese community and its contributions.
He added: “And the new location will certainly become a landmark in the future.”
The Chinese Benevolent Association initiated the building of the first gate. A CBA board member and founder of the Chinatown Transformation Collaborative Society said it was very unfortunate to see the landmark come down two years ago.
“Every time there’s a significant event—doesn’t matter if it’s the parade for K Days or for any other charitable runs, marathons—people would congregate at the Chinatown gate, the Harbin Gate, as a starting point,” Sandy Pon said.
“(Community members) are very pleased now that there will be a new Harbin Gate.”
The fate of the original Harbin Gate is also undecided. According to the city, an assessment revealed the gate has structural issues that would have necessitated either repairs or rebuilding in about two decades if it was simply relocated. However, the city would like to incorporate it in the new build, or reuse it in the area.
With files from Nicole Weisberg
