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In a city known for its freezing winters and burning hockey passion, Downtown Edmonton's Ice District development seems both an embodiment of what the city has long been, and a declaration of the new metropolis it is now becoming. With a new NHL hockey arena—the currently under-construction Rogers Place—serving as the proverbial 'centre ice' of a new mixed-use entertainment and sports district, the winter city's strong hockey culture is placed at the heart of its largest and most culturally declarative development.
Renamed the Ice District from the Arena District earlier this year, the re-branding sees Edmonton embrace its image as a winter city, with the community responding very strongly to the new name in focus groups, evidencing the city's growing sense of self confidence.
The complex, which will include a community centre, a public plaza, a casino, and a shopping mall alongside four highrise towers, will transform the architectural and cultural landscape of Downtown into a meeting place and social hub for Edmontonians.
The four towers, meanwhile, will bring new residential and commercial density to the area with condos and offices, while a new four-star hotel is also set to provide a base for tourism to the city. The tallest of the towers, the 251-metre Stantec Tower, will rise to 68 storeys above the Edmonton skyline (below). The WAM Development Group and Katz Group Properties tower is currently in the early stages of construction, with the excavation phase recently completed.
Besides the imposing Stantec Tower and the hotel and condominium buildings that will make up the second phase of the 'Ice District,' the completion of the smaller Edmonton Civic Tower and Rogers Place arena are expected in the shorter term (2016), with construction already well underway (below). The complex will also be connected to Edmonton's LRT system, with McEwan station scheduled to open together with Rogers Place, making NHL games—and Downtown Hamilton—accessible to commuters.
Though the Ice District is likely to become the nerve centre of Edmonton's Downtown, significant highrise development is occurring throughout the city. With high rates of population growth and job creation in the past decade, the city is currently seeing a slew of construction and new highrise proposals.
Among the most exciting current proposals is the 278-metre Edmontonian tower, which would become the tallest building in Western Canada if constructed (below). BCM Developments' 78-storey highrise would house a five-star hotel as well as retail, condominium suites, and an extensive range of amenities.
With the Ice District serving as an emblem of Edmonton's future, the city is growing into a northern metropolis, a trajectory highlighted by the ambitious projects—like the Edmontonian tower—currently proposed. However, considering the city's close ties to the energy sector, currently low oil prices mean that the immediate future of some proposed projects may be uncertain. Nonetheless, the city is continuing to rise, developing an assertive cultural identity and a distinctly Edmontonian civic pride.
