Downtown: Where is Edmonton Going?

MOVE the slider horizontally to compare then-and-now images of Jasper Ave.

Ten thousand people live in Downtown Edmonton, a tiny fraction of the city's population.

Yet it's slowly attracting new residents to towers, condos and lofts. A majority are couples without children.

Will Downtown develop the housing and the amenities for family life? Will City Hall's efforts to make the City Centre a walkable, enjoyable "People Place" pay off?

Check back here often for stories about Downtown Edmonton and Where it's going.

Public Forum

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Is There a Place For Everyone?

Many of Downtown's residents are the poorest in the city. Will there still be a place for them once thousands of new condo-dwellers move in? Mark Harvey has this report.

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Downtown is...Education

50,000 students register for classes in Downtown Edmonton. MacEwan University and Norquest College have their main campuses downtown, and the University of Alberta has a high-profile location on Jasper Avenue.
Jodi Abbott is President and CEO of Norquest which is 108th Street:

Norquest's plans for a new Downtown Campus

MacEwan has plans to sell its satellite buildings, including the Fine Arts Centre on 156th Street, and expand at its main campus on 104th Avenue.
David Atkinson is MacEwan's President:

Story about MacEwan's expansion plans

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Mayor Stephen Mandel on Downtown

Lydia Neufeld interviews Mayor Stephen Mandel about the new focus on Downtown.

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Pedways: Good, Bad, Discuss

Not many people want to venture outside at -30, but do Pedways take away from Edmonton's street life even when the weather's fine?
In this report by Mark Harvey we hear from Pedway supporter Jim Taylor of the Downtown Business Association, and from City Councillor Ben Henderson who believes Edmonton streets would be more vibrant without them, even in winter.

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Living Downtown: Interview

Radio Active's Kim Trynacity talks with Ian O'Donnell of the Downtown Edmonton Community League about living in the core, about family living and personal security.

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Winter City

Rick Harp interviews John Furlong, former CEO of Vancouver Olympic Committee. Furlong was Keynote Speaker when Edmonton unveiled its WinterCity Strategy on January 19th.

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A Walkable Downtown

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New Life for a Historic Building

The Mercer Building is a historic brick warehouse at 104th Avenue and 104th Street.
It sits right across from where the downtown arena is to go.
The Mercer building was built in 1911.
It sat empty for the past decade, but now it's coming to life.
Tim Adams takes us on a tour.

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Remaking Jasper Avenue

In the 1980s...something bad started happening to Jasper Avenue.
The commercial heart of the city hollowed-out as offices and shoppers packed up and moved to the suburbs.
Within a decade there were a dozen empty buildings between 100th and 110th streets.
Life has been slowly returning to Jasper Avenue...
As Mark Harvey reports...it might be about to get a major kick start.

Link to City of Edmonton's Vision for Jasper Avenue

In April work will begin to repair the LRT tunnel at Central Station. This requires Jasper Ave between 100 and 102nd Streets to be dug up for two years and allows for the beginning of the rehabilitation of Jasper Ave. Say good-bye to the green medians, and these interesting...structures.(Below) They contain switches for traffic lights controls, and formerly, working pay phones.

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Downtown Edmonton: Love-it or Hate it.

Downtown living isn't for everyone.
In fact 90% of Edmontonians choose to live somewhere else.
Here are two different views on Downtown.
First, Kari Wiens
Several years ago she moved from Edmonton to Strathcona County.
She doesn't come Downtown very often, and doesn't miss at all.

Then there's Cindy Dew. After 18 years in the suburbs she left Sherwood Park for Downtown.

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The Quarters

An aerial view of Downtown, looking west. The Quarters is at the bottom. Note the contrast between the low-density and vacant lots, and the towers to the immediate west.

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Downtown: The Quarters

97 St. & Jasper Ave

 96 St & Jasper Ave looking north

 

It was once the original commercial centre of Edmonton, but the area on the eastern edge of Downtown has been Skid Row for generations. Now it's about to be re-born, as The Quarters. Mark Harvey takes us on a tour with the City's Mary Ann Debrinski.

 

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Jaffer Building

The Jaffer Building at Jasper Avenue and 104 Street is getting a facelift.  
Alim Somji is behind the renovation.
Here's his conversation with Rick Harp on Edmonton AM
 

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Downtown at a Cross roads series - Appealing to families

Downtown is starting to come to life as a neighbourhood. But what does it have to do to make it more family friendly? How the community has progressed in the past decade, and what's missing.

Teacher at a school near downtown says the community risks entering a spiral: too few children downtown leads to underpopulated schools risking school closures,  which in turn makes the neighbourhood less attractive to families.

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Downtown Plan Boundary Map

The City of Edmonton defines the boundaries of Downtown as follows: The top of the River Valley north to 105 Avenue; and from 97th Street in the East to 110th Street in the West.

View larger map

Source: Capital City Downtown Plan

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