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Warehouse District Park

Grandinite said:
I was wondering about this the other day. AFAIK funding is already in place, so this is likely still in the design phase is my guess
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Everything I have heard is that they are setting up what they want included in the design of the park. Then have an international design competition. But they have also completed talks to buy additional parcels of land so that the park can be more rectangular in shape.
 
I agree the park is such a huge opportunity for the whole downtown area. There are so many opportunities that come with such a large scale park development in the middle of downtown. Redevelopment and activation of an area like this would normally take decades in any other form - if all goes well we could have a fully built out and useable park space in a couple of years.

If I recall correctly, the City was planning for a design competition sometime within the next 6 or 8 months. It will be very exciting to see what kinds of submissions they get. Frankly I don't even care if Pangman's development goes ahead or not. I'm just psyched for the park.
 
Timing and coordination is everything though...

We need The Parks by Pangman to get going.

We need Shift to be closer to reality* - likely another cycle off

We need Energy Square to decide on what it is going to be next.

We need Westrich to better understand what they want to do on 106 St.

We need the WLRT to not use 102 Avenue as a laydown area and lose 4+ years of usability.
 
@IanO Agreed on all points except the last one - given that Valley Line West will follow 102 Ave to 107 Street, and will necessitate reconstruction of the entire street, I'm not sure how they will get around closures. My only ask would be to ensure pedestrian access is maintained as much as possible, for as long as possible. Cycling access would also be nice, but again, I really don't see how they could maintain that space while actively working there.
 
They can do entire major intersections (97st, 100st, 101st) in 28 days, so do the most disruptive sections of Downtown in say one season and come back to do final components in years 3-4, but get the streets back open.

There are dozens of lessons learned from the SE line.
 
This is the project I am watching the most and get most excited about. To me, this is the kind of thing that could tilt the balance for people wanting to in the core and finally being the start of fast-tracked development for the surrounding area - whether it's low or high density retail, commercial or residential.

This has "Central Park" vibes and can differentiate us from a number of other Canadian downtowns. At least that's my opinion.
 
Omega Prime said:
This is the project I am watching the most and get most excited about. To me, this is the kind of thing that could tilt the balance for people wanting to in the core and finally being the start of fast-tracked development for the surrounding area - whether it's low or high density retail, commercial or residential.

This has "Central Park" vibes and can differentiate us from a number of other Canadian downtowns. At least that's my opinion.
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Yup. We need basketball courts (multi-use), outdoor workout equipment for active seniors, places to throw a ball or have a picnic etc. in the core of the core.

I am always blown away by places like HK, NYC, Paris and how many parks, green spaces, courts, active use opportunities there are.
 
I look at The Bounce basketball courts in Calgary's East Village and I see how successful that space - as "small" as it really is - brings community together. No doubt that basketball court and the event space it provides has really added to the walkability and enjoyment of the area. I hope Edmonton can emulate the same concept, and it seems so simple - installing a basketball court, or workout equipment, or physically engaging streetscape and activities moves the needle to get people in and around the area.

Lack of green space in the downtown core was something that was seared into my head when I moved to Edmonton and the one mental block I had - it was a concrete jungle - literally, with all those parking lots. The removal of that changes the game for me, especially since the Warehouse District in downtown has so much potential to do things "right". A central park area (and with courts and those kind of amenities) completely changes my view on spending time in that location.

Personally I would love to have a futsal court in the area as well - we have an international population base in Edmonton that absolutely adores soccer, and we have Edmonton FC with the CPL that is growing in interest to boot. Why not cater to the soccer crowd in a central location too? I have no doubt it would be mega popular in the warm months.
 
Omega Prime said:
I look at The Bounce basketball courts in Calgary's East Village and I see how successful that space - as "small" as it really is - brings community together. No doubt that basketball court and the event space it provides has really added to the walkability and enjoyment of the area. I hope Edmonton can emulate the same concept, and it seems so simple - installing a basketball court, or workout equipment, or physically engaging streetscape and activities moves the needle to get people in and around the area.

Lack of green space in the downtown core was something that was seared into my head when I moved to Edmonton and the one mental block I had - it was a concrete jungle - literally, with all those parking lots. The removal of that changes the game for me, especially since the Warehouse District in downtown has so much potential to do things "right". A central park area (and with courts and those kind of amenities) completely changes my view on spending time in that location.

Personally I would love to have a futsal court in the area as well - we have an international population base in Edmonton that absolutely adores soccer, and we have Edmonton FC with the CPL that is growing in interest to boot. Why not cater to the soccer crowd in a central location too? I have no doubt it would be mega popular in the warm months.
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I, for once, would love the futsal, goven that maybe my only "Brazilian clichè" is loving soccer (or football, for those of us who speak the Queen's English).
 
kcantor said:
i’ve got nothing against parks - both active and green space - but as long as our sidewalks aren’t safe and comfortable to walk on there’s no point in spending money on more parks. :(
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Kenny boy you truly haven't experienced our geologically diverse sidewalks in the correct way until you've found yourself cruising down them on a longboard.

I recommend LARGE wheels.
 
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