[Avenuer]

 

[IanO]

 

[Avenuer]

I wonder how many residential units are in those two blocks now that the Maclab towers are nearly done. They have to be two of the most dense in the city.

 

[occidentalcapital]

That Tim Hortons is very busy but it would be great to see that lot redeveloped

 

[Edmcowboy11]

Taken: September 14, 2023

 

[Avenuer]

 

[YEG imagineer]

The 112 Street sidewalk being poured today. Will be nice having that side open to pedestrians again.

 

[YEG imagineer]

Crane coming down now.

 

[erudyk_29]

From U of A transit corridor a couple days ago.

 

[Platinum107]

View attachment 511536
From U of A transit corridor a couple days ago.

I love that this area is basically becoming Edmonton's 2nd downtown

 

[Clearshades]

I wish this portion was our East core.

 

[Kosy123]

Yeah I wonder what the trajectory of downtown in general would’ve been if the U of A was on the same bank of the river as the downtown core.

I know that would’ve been politically impossible at the time (The U of A was supposed to be in Calgary but was put in Strathcona which was annexed by Edmonton), but it’s something to ponder I guess.

I’m still of the opinion that just because of geography, we got stuck with two downtown cores. Could that be a boon in the long run? Sure. But it’s a weird quirky detriment for a city of our size and density.

 

[thommyjo]

Yeah I wonder what the trajectory of downtown in general would’ve been if the U of A was on the same bank of the river as the downtown core.

I know that would’ve been politically impossible at the time (The U of A was supposed to be in Calgary but was put in Strathcona which was annexed by Edmonton), but it’s something to ponder I guess.

I’m still of the opinion that just because of geography, we got stuck with two downtown cores. Could that be a boon in the long run? Sure. But it’s a weird quirky detriment for a city of our size and density.

I sometimes think about if whyte ave was actually jasper ave and what that’d do to our downtown.

 

[yeggator]

I sometimes think about if whyte ave was actually jasper ave and what that’d do to our downtown.

The what-ifs seem like excuses to me. MacEwan University is smack downtown, and the LRT makes downtown ridiculously easy to access from the U of A (speaking from experience as someone who goes to the Seoul Fried Chicken in downtown by Bay Station instead of Whyte Ave because the train makes it easier to go there). We have the pieces in place to encourage lots of activity downtown, and we just need to put in the work to keep the area safe and clean until there's a critical mass of businesses and interesting things to do there to keep attracting residents and visitors.

 

[thommyjo]

The what-ifs seem like excuses to me. MacEwan University is smack downtown, and the LRT makes downtown ridiculously easy to access from the U of A (speaking from experience as someone who goes to the Seoul Fried Chicken in downtown by Bay Station instead of Whyte Ave because the train makes it easier to go there). We have the pieces in place to encourage lots of activity downtown, and we just need to put in the work to keep the area safe and clean until there's a critical mass of businesses and interesting things to do there to keep attracting residents and visitors.

Yes and no. I think it’s just a critical mass thing. Would you rather be on a street with 20 bars and thousands of people on a Friday night? Or have 4 different streets with a few bars each and maybe 100 people walking around outside them?

Makes a big difference for safety, sense of excitement, and even marketing/promotion. Most large North American cities can really only have a few super popular streets for retail, nightlife, or culture.

Broadway in Vancouver is alright. But it’s never got the momentum of downtown streets despite being dense. Right down the b-99 from UBC and filled with restaurants, residential, and tons of shops.