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

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