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

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LIVABILITY Is the downtown vibrant, liveable & connected? Population Between the 1996 and 2006 federal censuses, the population of downtown Edmonton nearly doubled to 9,330. According to the 2009 municipal census, there are now 11,600 downtown residents. Although the daytime working population still far outnumbers the residential population, certain areas of the downtown are becoming vibrant after-hours. The downtown is also supported by nearby innercore neighbourhoods that house more than 63,000 people. These neighbourhoods are a major source of housing for downtown employees, as well as customers for downtown businesses. An additional 30,000 people are expected to live on the redeveloped City Centre Airport lands, which are only about 2 km from downtown and on track to be served by a funded LRT extension. It will be important that this exciting new project can build a strong relationship with the downtown and not draw population growth away. Diversity Edmonton is home to many immigrants and a proportionate share settles downtown. The downtown is notably a magnet for interprovincial migrants, and many bring urban experiences, expectations, and values to the city. The downtown tends to be home to students, young professionals, and older ‘empty-nesters,’ which is reflected in the average household size of 1.5 persons. Downtown residents are twice as likely to hold a university degree, as well as work in arts and culture, than the city population as a whole. A higher portion of downtown residents identify themselves as a visible minority. Downtown has 9,330 residents 45% population growth downtown between 1996-2006 (compared to 8% citywide) 24% of the downtown population are migrants (compared to 23% citywide) 1.5 is the average household size (compared to 2.4 citywide) Downtown has 2 large format grocery stores Housing While the majority of Edmonton’s housing stock is single- and semi-detached homes, three quarters of downtown dwellings are in apartment buildings over five storeys tall. It was reported that dwellings suitable for young or large families are scarce, remaining a barrier to creating a complete community downtown. Safety As in many cities, downtown Edmonton remains challenged by the perception that it is an unsafe, family-unfriendly place 10 . Livability is a subjective quality, so perception can be as much an ally as an enemy. “The downtown has become more comprehensively livable in the last ten years.” 10 Downtown Edmonton BIA. (2011). Security and Safety. Retrieved from: http://www.edmontondowntown.com/about.php?sid=84. Accessed 2012 May 14. 152
Land Uses Downtown Edmonton is dominated by office and commercial uses. Transportation uses, which are largely, surface parking lots, also comprise 13% of land area and offer important redevelopment opportunities. The downtown also has an increasing amount of residential development; presently this is focused in the south portions of the downtown around Louise McKinney Park and the legislature building. However, efforts are in place to strengthen residential development in the north-west portion of the City, where residential growth is already beginning to develop at a faster pace. Public Realm It was expressed that the quality of life in downtown Edmonton has improved considerably in the past decade. For example, urban-format supermarkets have opened to serve the downtown market while street-oriented retail and restaurants have proliferated. Commercial 45% Significant efforts have also been made to increase pedestrian Industrial 1% activity. Recent concentrated investments in the public realm have Institutional 12% created a number of high quality human scale spaces in downtown Residential 15% Edmonton. The Railtown housing development on the west side of Open Space 12% the Warehouse Campus neighbourhood, for example, was Transportation 13% integrated with a new multi-use trail system. Wider sidewalks, new street furniture, and “heritage” styling have transformed a long Vacant 3% stretch of 104 Street centred on Jasper Avenue into a promenade. Churchill Square, in the heart of downtown, was expanded by narrowing the surrounding roads, and transformed into a more ‘urban’ and less ceremonial form to support the daily crowds who use it. Connectivity Notwithstanding improvements to the pedestrian realm, downtown Edmonton is automobile-oriented. While this is convenient for drivers to access the downtown, it means that the downtown is not yet supporting the intensity or density within its potential. There has, however, been a renewed focus on investment in LRT. One of the strategies of the Capital City Downtown Plan is to use improved transit to facilitate an increase in densities and enable placemaking. At the same time, the City continues to invest in an expanded expressway and ring-road system that potentially undermines the positive impact of concurrent investments in downtown and public transit. Additionally, there are 45,000 public parking stalls downtown. This abundance of parking is not just a transportation challenge; it is a challenge for downtown’s urban design and quality of public spaces. The City has loosened parking requirements and is considering implementing a residential grant program to encourage redevelopment of large surface parking lots. This program is predicted to have some success and the City estimates that for every $1 invested in this program it could attract $11 in private investment. The downtown’s population has also grown dramatically as a result of investment in these new residential opportunities. Downtown has 45,000 parking stalls for the public 59 heritage properties 153
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This project would
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CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .........
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Additionally this project aims to b
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with the selected downtown study ar
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KEY FINDINGS The project team devel
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Downtowns are iconic and powerful s
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Victoria have very sensitive downto
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PROSPERITY Does the downtown have a
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These are very promising signs, yet
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Downtowns are making a major contri
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The densest downtown is Vancouver a
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Downtowns are important places for
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Winnipeg Fredericton Edmonton Halif
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Downtown Toronto and downtown Vanco
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Municipal Investments (mapped inves
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DOWNTOWN CASE STUDIES 32
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Downtown Halifax Timeline 1749 - 20
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VISIBILITY Does the downtown have a
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VISIONARY Does the downtown have st
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LIVEABILITY Is the downtown vibrant
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sites for redevelopment that are cu
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Summary of Municipal Investments Pr
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Key Patterns of Investment: 1. Cent
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Future Investments The proposed Con
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Downtown Fredericton Timeline 1749
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PROSPERITY: Is the downtown’s eco
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Municipal Tax Base Since 1995, the
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Public Realm Downtown Fredericton h
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60 Municipal Investments in Downtow
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2. Enhancing the waterfront Committ
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Downtown Ottawa Timeline 1792 - 201
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charges have recently been reinstat
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Many of the federally occupied buil
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Safety Downtown Ottawa is seen as a
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transit service downtown and across
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Summary of Public Investments Publi
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Key Patterns of Investment: Convent
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Downtown Toronto Timeline 1793 - 20
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Context Map: Key Assets and Feature
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The downtown study area differs sli
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http://www.architravel.com/architra
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Office Development Downtown Toronto
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Municipal Tax Base The downtown mak
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Safety Crime indicators for the Cit
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STRATEGY Is the City Strategically
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Public Investments in Downtown Toro
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5. Strengthening Communities Invest
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Downtown London Timeline 1840 - 201
Page 104 and 105: VISIBILITY Does the Downtown have a
Page 106 and 107: PROSPERITY: Is the downtown’s eco
Page 108 and 109: LIVABILITY Is the downtown vibrant,
Page 110 and 111: picnic tables, cafe tables with umb
Page 112 and 113: Summary of Capital Projects: 1998-2
Page 114 and 115: Key Patterns of Investment: The Cit
Page 116 and 117: WINNIPEG Growing in strength and co
Page 118 and 119: Context Map: Key Assets and Feature
Page 120 and 121: VISIONARY Does the downtown have st
Page 122 and 123: PROSPERITY: Is the downtown’s eco
Page 124 and 125: LIVABILITY Is the downtown vibrant,
Page 126 and 127: STRATEGY Is the City Strategically
Page 128 and 129: 126 Major Public Investments in Dow
Page 130 and 131: Ship Street, Sky, and The Strand. T
Page 132 and 133: Downtown Saskatoon Timeline 1903 -
Page 134 and 135: VISIBILITY Does the downtown have a
Page 136 and 137: Leadership and Collaboration The Ci
Page 138 and 139: Office Development Private office s
Page 140 and 141: LIVEABILITY Is the downtown vibrant
Page 144 and 145: Key Patterns of Investment: 1. Conn
Page 146 and 147: EDMONTON a downtown filled with mom
Page 150 and 151: UNITY Does the downtown have strong
Page 152 and 153: Retail Development It has been obse
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Page 160 and 161: downtown zoning bylaws ensure that
Page 162 and 163: Downtown Vancouver Timeline 1859 -
Page 166 and 167: PROSPERITY Is the downtown’s econ
Page 168 and 169: The downtown also generates a fifth
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Page 174 and 175: 172 Downtown Vancouver Capital Proj
Page 176 and 177: 2. Building complete communities In
Page 182 and 183: The City has also taken strong lead
Page 184 and 185: downtown is striving to offer a uni
Page 186 and 187: Safety Downtown Victoria has faced
Page 190 and 191: Pattern of Investment: Investing in
Page 192 and 193: QUICK WINS FOR CANADIAN DOWNTOWNS O
Page 194 and 195: Connecting the Downtown with Natura
Page 196 and 197: comprehensive planning processes to
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Page 200 and 201: 198 APPENDICES
Page 202 and 203: Yet, where the municipality had not
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Data Gaps From the outset of this p
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The foundation of the five principl
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was also collected that examines pr
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APPENDIX 2 - PHOTO CREDITS Front Co
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Context Map The Harbour: http://www
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Toronto 212 Confederation Square: h
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214 Rebuilt Covent Garden Market: h
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Parking lots: The Alberta Legislatu
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Victoria Cover Page Red Second post
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APPENDIX 3 - REFERENCE LIST City of
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City of Edmonton. (2010). Capital C
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City of Vancouver. (2007). Downtown
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Condos Victoria BC. (2011). The Atr
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Harris Consulting (2007). City of V
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The Star Phoenix Website. (2011). S
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