Some locals seeing early success in Chinatown revitalization efforts
The revitalization of Chinatown is well underway.
It's been three months since the Edmonton Chinatown and Area Business Improvement Association started its long-term "Chinatown Solution" project, and the organization said things are going well.
The initiative includes steps to create a cleaner and safer Chinatown, with hopes that revitalization will help attract more business to the area.
"People are waiting to come back downtown, they’re waiting to come back to Chinatown. We have to give them a product that they’re looking for," said Stephen Hammerschmidt of the Edmonton Chinatown BIA.
To help clean up, around 24 people from the Hope Mission's Recovery Program have been hired to wash sidewalks and store windows every two weeks.
"We’ve been doing this for two and a half months now and it has done a great deal to change the image of Chinatown," Hammerschmidt said, adding the work is also helping people recovering from addiction.
"We want to make sure that they succeed. When they succeed, we succeed," he added.
William Chen recently took over the Van Loc Vietnamese sandwich shop in Chinatown and he's excited about the initiative. He said cleaner streets mean more customers.
"It's really bringing a positive outlook to a once maybe very unfortunate area in the city," Chen said.
"We’ve definitely seen an uptick in sales and traffic into the doors. Lots more people are walking by as well, so that’s always welcome," he added.
The association has put up signs in the area to try and deter encampments near businesses and there are plans to fix all the broken fences in the area.
The Edmonton Chinatown BIA is also launching the "Chinatown is Open" initiative, which will give $40,000 bursaries to four businesses looking to open in the area.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Pilot reported fire onboard plane carrying fuel, attempted to return to Fairbanks just before crash
One of the two pilots aboard an airplane carrying fuel reported there was a fire on the airplane shortly before it crashed and burned outside Fairbanks, killing both people on board, a federal aviation official said Wednesday.