Exhibition Lands Redevelopment | ?m | ?s | City of Edmonton

I didn't notice it before, but the city has launched a website (https://www.exhibitionlands.ca/) for the project. The timeline section is informative, but frustratingly vague in regards to the *actual* timeline. It's more of an outline of what order the different components of the project will be completed in, rather than an actual timeline with general dates we should expect to see progress in these different areas.

I'm also disappointed to see that the Coliseum station's replacement isn't scheduled for the short or medium terms, despite the 115th Ave station being planned for the short term (before the arena is even demolished). I sent them an email asking if they'd at least construct at-grade crossings for folks who don't feel safe in the underground concourse. I'll be sure to let you know if/when they respond.
 
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archited said:
Dictatorial lifestyles are, however.
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Not sure what you mean. The province and municipalities have had the power to control land use for a century at this point. Creating a land use plan that limits areas outside a certain boundary for agricultural or natural uses is no different than them being able to say whether you can have commerical or residential uses on your property.
 
Well sprawl is an issue. For example the plan to build another community south of Ellerslie road that will be the size of Mill woods. There is good farmland that way but leave it to developers they will destroy all that land.

I think exhibition lands had an opportunity, especially if done right.
 
Edmcowboy11 said:
Well sprawl is an issue. For example the plan to build another community south of Ellerslie road that will be the size of Mill woods. There is good farmland that way but leave it to developers they will destroy all that land.

I think exhibition lands had an opportunity, especially if done right.
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while i concur that exhibition lands is likely to be a bit of an opportunity lost, you can't compare a project with a total development/planning area of 200 acres with millwoods which had an overall planning area of 6,500 acres.

you also can't blame the planning or the final built form or densities (or lack thereof) on private developers either. of that 6,500 acres, 4,425 or 68% was publicly owned, not private.

https://webdocs.edmonton.ca/infrapl...l_Woods_Development_Concept_Consolidation.pdf
 
CplKlinger said:
I didn't notice it before, but the city has launched a website (https://www.exhibitionlands.ca/) for the project. The timeline section is informative, but frustratingly vague in regards to the *actual* timeline. It's more of an outline of what order the different components of the project will be completed in, rather than an actual timeline with general dates we should expect to see progress in these different areas.

I'm also disappointed to see that the Coliseum station's replacement isn't scheduled for the short or medium terms, despite the 115th Ave station being planned for the short term (before the arena is even demolished). I sent them an email asking if they'd at least construct at-grade crossings for folks who don't feel safe in the underground concourse. I'll be sure to let you know if/when they respond.
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I got an amazing response which has some good news about Coliseum Station!

"My apologies for the delayed response to your inquiry via the new website - there were some issues with getting the Exhibition Lands email account properly transferred to the new Project Lead (myself).

In relation to your questions around the current and proposed LRT facilities at the Exhibition Lands, firstly I will comment that the two new proposed stations are not yet approved for funding by Council. That said, our current development timeline proposes that the new 115 Ave station be constructed within the next 6 years or so to facilitate the surrounding neighbourhood development parcels, most notably the South Transit Village which surrounds that station. The 119th Ave station that is proposed falls under the "long term" timeline for the neighbourhood's redevelopment. Construction of this station will be contingent upon development progressing north up the site to the current Coliseum lands. When this area of the proposed redevelopment becomes viable will be contingent on market factors primarily, with absorption and sales of the development lands to the south by private industry and homeowners being the biggest driver.

As for the current Coliseum station, there are planned improvements for this station similar to those implemented at Stadium station - these improvements have been budgeted for and my belief is that they will occur in the short-term. I will have to connect with my colleagues in Transit for more information but I will be sure to get back to you with more information once they let me know. I wanted to get this response back out to you today however as quite some time has passed since your initial inquiry and I wanted you to get at least some answers to your questions.

I hope this has been useful for you and I will be sure to send along a follow-up email once I get more details from Transit on the Coliseum station improvements. My apologies again for the extremely delayed response, but now that ownership of the Exhibition Lands communications have been transferred over situations like this should hopefully no longer occur."
 
CplKlinger said:
I got an amazing response which has some good news about Coliseum Station!

"My apologies for the delayed response to your inquiry via the new website - there were some issues with getting the Exhibition Lands email account properly transferred to the new Project Lead (myself).

In relation to your questions around the current and proposed LRT facilities at the Exhibition Lands, firstly I will comment that the two new proposed stations are not yet approved for funding by Council. That said, our current development timeline proposes that the new 115 Ave station be constructed within the next 6 years or so to facilitate the surrounding neighbourhood development parcels, most notably the South Transit Village which surrounds that station. The 119th Ave station that is proposed falls under the "long term" timeline for the neighbourhood's redevelopment. Construction of this station will be contingent upon development progressing north up the site to the current Coliseum lands. When this area of the proposed redevelopment becomes viable will be contingent on market factors primarily, with absorption and sales of the development lands to the south by private industry and homeowners being the biggest driver.

As for the current Coliseum station, there are planned improvements for this station similar to those implemented at Stadium station - these improvements have been budgeted for and my belief is that they will occur in the short-term. I will have to connect with my colleagues in Transit for more information but I will be sure to get back to you with more information once they let me know. I wanted to get this response back out to you today however as quite some time has passed since your initial inquiry and I wanted you to get at least some answers to your questions.

I hope this has been useful for you and I will be sure to send along a follow-up email once I get more details from Transit on the Coliseum station improvements. My apologies again for the extremely delayed response, but now that ownership of the Exhibition Lands communications have been transferred over situations like this should hopefully no longer occur."
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I got the promised follow-up yesterday.

"My contact at LRT just got back to me on Monday with a short update to your question. Unfortunately it sounds like planning and design are still being considered for the existing LRT, so details are limited, but my understanding is that all improvements are meant to increase safety at the station and increase the life of the station in the interim until the new station is built. See her comments below:

Hi *Name*,

I apologize for the delay in response.

We have Coliseum Bridge Rehab design will be completed by end of 2022, and the construction will start in 2023, and possibility the Coliseum Platform Structure work could start in 2023.

I wouldn't expect the underground aspect of the station to be closed as part of this project, more so repairs and improvements at grade. As for your question on the greenway links, there are plans to extend the greenway/multi-use network throughout the Exhibition Lands, which would include aspects in and around the new 119 ave station, but those extensions would not take place until we're further along in the redevelopment cycle. So the path-system as-is will remain for now.

I hope this helps and sorry I couldn't share finer details but we just don't have the detailed planning & design at this time to give much more info that would be useful."
 
Now that a new Mayor and City Council is in business, what happens now with the Coliseum?

I know that the previous Mayor was so gung-ho about demolishing it instead of employing reusable options, which meant anything from an indoor velodrome + recreation centre to a homeless shelter.
 
Was that really a mayoral directive? Seemed like the CoE admin itself and council seemed gung-ho on getting rid of it.
 
Gronk! said:
I'm a bit disappointed to read that Ashley Salvador wants the Coliseum demolished. I had such high hopes for her.
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Bottom line is that, legally speaking, there's not a lot to do to repurpose it that is not too expensive in terms of CAPEX. Is it short sighted? Maybe, but it is also a little bit of financial caution, exacerbated by the fact that nothing has been done in over four years, so people are desperate for a quick answer to their problems, and that puts some extra degree of pressure on council members
 
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