The Value of Investing in Canadian Downtowns - International ...

VISIBILITY
Does the downtown have an integral role in the life of the wider city?
“Urban and suburban thinking in
Edmonton have not yet been stitched
together.”
Edmonton is the capital of Alberta and is the province's
second-largest city. It is located on the North
Saskatchewan River. Edmonton annexed significant
amounts of land up until the early 1980’s and the
downtown only occupies a small portion (1%) of the
city’s land area yet it accounts for a substantial portion
of the city’s commercial office market, employment and
tax base.
Downtown Edmonton is currently rebounding after
decades of decline. Several powerful factors coincided
in the 1980s and 1990s to hollow out the downtown.
Many of these factors came from outside the city,
including cuts to the provincial public service and falling
oil prices; however, there were serious impacts on the
downtown stemming from suburban investment and
development—in particular, the West Edmonton Mall.
In the past decade, downtown Edmonton has experienced a rapid resurgence
and strong growth, particularly in its residential population. The City, supported
by other levels of government, has made significant investments in its
downtown institutions, amenities and services that have both strengthened the
core and allowed it to re-emerge as the heart of the city. Downtown Edmonton
provides unique cultural offerings that are unavailable anywhere else in the
City and are a magnet to the broader population.
Downtown comprises
1%
of Edmonton’s land area (242ha)
1%
of the people live in downtown
Edmonton (9,330 or 21 people per
hectare)
65%
of Edmonton’s office space is
downtown
4%
of the City’s retail space is
downtown
Downtown Edmonton has
63,232
jobs or 261 jobs per hectare.
147
Downtown generates $355K in
tax revenue per hectare