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Warehouse District Park

archited said:
Now that is ridiculous -- who can surmise what elements will be in play 50 years out let alone 200 to 300 years -- Planners with too much time on their hands.
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Accurately? It's not possible. It's more of a thought experiment using assumptions and broad estimates. When I was a planner working for Fortis I used to do this to try and forecast how long it would take to build out gas infrastructure say, into the interior. But there are far too many variables to even forecast beyond 5 years unfortunately.

The past 5 years were actually a perfect example of that. in 2018, did you ever imagine oil being over 100/bbl WTI, a global pandemic, 6% inflation, irresponsible QE and money printing by the BoC, massive equipment/labour/materials/supply chain constraints, rising rates, and a continued ignorance of government towards our real estate issues despite them actively campaigning to solve said crisis?

The only thing certain in these times is that we live in uncertain times.
 
From May 16, 2023 EDC Minutes:

C.2 Warehouse Park Sarah Stephenson- COE Motion of Non- support: D. Brown Seconded: N. Pryce While the Committee supports the development of the park space, it is suggested that at this stage of project development there should be further design consideration to the following:

● ‘Warehouse Park aims to respect, contribute, and renew the memory or heritage of buildings, districts and landscapes’ A further refinement of essences and character components (e.g., playground/play areas, the form of structures/canopies, hard surfaces, soft landscape, site furniture, lighting, warming/fireplaces, northern light arbor structure, public art and other features) should be considered to better reflect and interpret the Warehouse District and other important cultural/indigenous ‘memories’ to establish a unique sense of place for Warehouse Park that is different than other contemporary Edmonton park spaces. (Principle C2)

● ‘Indigenous vegetation is promoted to provide habitat and connectivity for wildlife in and through the park.’A further refinement on the use and arrangement of indigenous (originating or occurring naturally in Alberta or Edmonton) plantings should be considered to better reflect the Edmonton/Alberta cultural landscape and establish a more ecological and sustainable landscape.

● Consider incorporating more design elements that meaningfully address/represent the cultural significance of the area to indigenous communities. Themes should be represented in the form, function, and finish (materiality) of the built work - creating spaces and functional elements with appropriate consultation with indigenous communities. Themes should genuinely facilitate use and sense of ownership of the space by indigenous communities, rather than just provide a visual representation of cultural motifs (murals, symbols, "plop art").

For the Motion: N. Pryce, J. Candlish, M. Tindall, D. Brown, J. Monfries, C. Dorward Against the Motion: K. Dieterman, T. Ziola, E. Dunn, J. Mills CARRIED
 
I like a couple of the suggested design considerations, especially the added consideration to the heritage & feel of the area & further refinement of the key components such as the play areas and structures.
That, and the push for ecologically sensitive soft scaping, yup.
I'm unsure of the 3rd point & look forward to understanding more of the underlying intentions or drive. Seems like familiar but unnecessary placating, I could be completely wrong here for sure.
A visit to the exceptional Indigenous Peoples Experience (at Fort Edmonton) offers visitors so much, it's done right. I love it and spend hours at a time "breathing it in" each month. A few of my family/friends where on the elders committee's, so I gotta give it a plug, haha.
www.fortedmontonpark.ca

Indigenous Peoples Experience

www.fortedmontonpark.ca www.fortedmontonpark.ca
What's this warehouse park trying to be exactly and for whom?
I'm still positive and hopeful for our new park though, and really curious what they come up with.
 
MCXavierL said:
From May 16, 2023 EDC Minutes:

C.2 Warehouse Park Sarah Stephenson- COE Motion of Non- support: D. Brown Seconded: N. Pryce While the Committee supports the development of the park space, it is suggested that at this stage of project development there should be further design consideration to the following:

● ‘Warehouse Park aims to respect, contribute, and renew the memory or heritage of buildings, districts and landscapes’ A further refinement of essences and character components (e.g., playground/play areas, the form of structures/canopies, hard surfaces, soft landscape, site furniture, lighting, warming/fireplaces, northern light arbor structure, public art and other features) should be considered to better reflect and interpret the Warehouse District and other important cultural/indigenous ‘memories’ to establish a unique sense of place for Warehouse Park that is different than other contemporary Edmonton park spaces. (Principle C2)

● ‘Indigenous vegetation is promoted to provide habitat and connectivity for wildlife in and through the park.’A further refinement on the use and arrangement of indigenous (originating or occurring naturally in Alberta or Edmonton) plantings should be considered to better reflect the Edmonton/Alberta cultural landscape and establish a more ecological and sustainable landscape.

● Consider incorporating more design elements that meaningfully address/represent the cultural significance of the area to indigenous communities. Themes should be represented in the form, function, and finish (materiality) of the built work - creating spaces and functional elements with appropriate consultation with indigenous communities. Themes should genuinely facilitate use and sense of ownership of the space by indigenous communities, rather than just provide a visual representation of cultural motifs (murals, symbols, "plop art").

For the Motion: N. Pryce, J. Candlish, M. Tindall, D. Brown, J. Monfries, C. Dorward Against the Motion: K. Dieterman, T. Ziola, E. Dunn, J. Mills CARRIED
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This all sounds sort of nice, but what does it really mean? For instance "renew the memory of heritage buildings, districts and landscapes". Are they going to put up another plaque or something?
 
David A said:
This all sounds sort of nice, but what does it really mean? For instance "renew the memory of heritage buildings, districts and landscapes". Are they going to put up another plaque or something?
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This is something I've been suggesting for some time. Though there were some really cool homes and buildings in the area. Much of their history is unknown to the general public and it would be really cool to have some monuments to their memory in the form of historical monuments scattered on the various lots. The area will feel relatively new and modern once the area is built out, and it'll be easy to forget that there's been a hundred years of lives, careers, and businesses that were silently demolished in the area over the past 30 years.
 
What's the next major milestone here? Site prep for 2023? or all in 24-25?
 
I suspect there are more detail drawings needed before any site work begins -- maybe utility relocation this fall and the real work starting in 2024.
 
Nothing the city does seems to go quickly. One would hope taking time would improve the outcome, but based on other projects not so sure about that.
 
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