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Downtown

This looks to be the retirement home conversion on 103ave?

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Barnaby said:
I agree that downtown foot traffic is improving, housing is needed to keep up the momentum. The makeup of restaurants in the core tell you exactly who's being attracted to DT, though. Everything existing is virtually high end now. Very little affordable options for clothing, food, entertainment.

I don't think this is a consequence of the kind of offerings, I think it highlights what's happening DT. McDonald's isn't able to succeed in Downtown Edmonton, but countless very expensive restaurants and an arena selling $300 tickets is?

Why can I easily find a $2000 sweater on 103rd st, but not a $2 cheeseburger?

The people turning their back on downtown Edmonton is the middle class, not lower or upper income folks. The EDTBA needs to find ways to draw the middle class into the core. This means housing.
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My bigger issue is that while there certainly is some positive momentum, that this article is suggesting Downtown Edmonton is 'hitting its stride' with what, the addition of a flag store, tea shop and 'jewelry, crystals and spiritual tools' emporium?

I'm sorry, but while it is good to see some commercial (CRU) spaces being filled, the Downtown retail scene continues to be an absolute embarrassment for a city of Edmonton's size.

Grants to encourage some new businesses are also helpful, but not a particularly good sign or reflection of the health of one's retail scene; the other notables are simply moving chairs around.

Again, I think there is positive momentum and more people returning to the core, safety improving and a few new projects that will inject some new life, but let me be very clear that the retail scene is underwhelming (being kind) at the best of times and distressing at others.
 
I do feel things are improving, but it is a big overstatement at this point to say hitting its stride which hurts the credibility of the article and the author. Yes an event has brought people downtown a lot recently, but what about the rest of the year now?

I am more positive about the improvement in retail in so far the new flag shop and the other stores are not high end, although some of the remaining retail that survived the carnage of the last few years is. I also completely agree that in the long run, growth can not be maintained by grants, but hopefully once the new stores become established (most actually not funded by the grant), more and better will come.

At this point I would focus on the positive incremental improvement, encourage more in every way possible and not so much whether some other city is arguably doing better or not.
 
Ya a bit of a strange article. We never did see a die off of any major amount of hospitality during or after COVID unless you bemoan McDonald's closing. But we certainly are is a worse situation when it comes to traditional retail and shopping and I haven't seen any improvement on this. Very incremental for sure.

Playoffs highlighted Downtown, maybe changed a few perceptions. The immediate solution to Downtown is office workers (government in particular) coming back. But fail that, longer term is residential something successive Councils have focused on since the 1997 Downtown Plan. It takes time and there's no magic bullet. Making Downtown safe, attractive and interesting will go a long way. This is exactly what the EDBA and its partners are already focusing on.
 
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Barnaby said:
I agree that downtown foot traffic is improving, housing is needed to keep up the momentum. The makeup of restaurants in the core tell you exactly who's being attracted to DT, though. Everything existing is virtually high end now. Very little affordable options for clothing, food, entertainment.

I don't think this is a consequence of the kind of offerings, I think it highlights what's happening DT. McDonald's isn't able to succeed in Downtown Edmonton, but countless very expensive restaurants and an arena selling $300 tickets is?

Why can I easily find a $2000 sweater on 103rd st, but not a $2 cheeseburger?

The people turning their back on downtown Edmonton is the middle class, not lower or upper income folks. The EDTBA needs to find ways to draw the middle class into the core. This means housing.
Click to expand...
All very well said. The lack of fast and cheap food options is especially brutal downtown. Cosmic donair is one of the only spots. and you can only eat there so many times. Jack's isn't even open on weekends and closes at 7 pm weekdays. Sometimes a guy just wants a <$10 burger at 9 pm on a Thursday but you're SOL if you're downtown.

Don't even get me started on retail. Winners is basically the only place for not high-end clothing and it wouldn't surprise me if it closed tomorrow.

Worse yet, you have a store taking a gamble on downtown like Shop Chop on 107, which has a fun selection of some minor decor and kitschy gifts, but the VLW construction has blocked off sidewalk access to it currently with ZERO signage about how to access it. There's a sad degree of apathy this city shows towards businesses affected by construction in the core yet wonder why retail continues to flee out to the burbs.
 
IanO said:
I miss Garage Burger.
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Ha! I remember going there one time and watching a mouse scurry across the floor. Never went back lol
 
northlands said:
All very well said. The lack of fast and cheap food options is especially brutal downtown. Cosmic donair is one of the only spots. and you can only eat there so many times. Jack's isn't even open on weekends and closes at 7 pm weekdays. Sometimes a guy just wants a <$10 burger at 9 pm on a Thursday but you're SOL if you're downtown.

Don't even get me started on retail. Winners is basically the only place for not high-end clothing and it wouldn't surprise me if it closed tomorrow.

Worse yet, you have a store taking a gamble on downtown like Shop Chop on 107, which has a fun selection of some minor decor and kitschy gifts, but the VLW construction has blocked off sidewalk access to it currently with ZERO signage about how to access it. There's a sad degree of apathy this city shows towards businesses affected by construction in the core yet wonder why retail continues to flee out to the burbs.
Click to expand...

I wish Jack's was open on Saturday days now that the Downtown Farmer's Market has returned to 104 St.
 
Greenspace said:
Ya a bit of a strange article. We never did see a die off of any major amount of hospitality during or after COVID unless you bemoan McDonald's closing. But we certainly are is a worse situation when it comes to traditional retail and shopping and I haven't seen any improvement on this. Very incremental for sure.

Playoffs highlighted Downtown, maybe changed a few perceptions. The immediate solution to Downtown is office workers (government in particular) coming back. But fail that, longer term is residential something successive Councils have focused on since the 1997 Downtown Plan. It takes time and there's no magic bullet. Making Downtown safe, attractive and interesting will go a long way. This is exactly what the EDBA and its partners are already focusing on.
Click to expand...
I would really focus on those three words - safe, attractive and interesting. There are a number of components to them, but I agree focusing on that is a big part of the solution.
 
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