What do you think of this project?

  • Total voters
    59
God said:
Hello, I’m not exactly knew here ive been reading the forums for months and closer to a year. The sign is meant to be a trendy spot to take pictures and post on your Instagram. This is something the city really needs. Similar to the Toronto sign in Toronto. Taking pictures and posting it will hopefully get people to ask where that location is and it’ll get talked about more in and out of the city. That’s the goal at least. It all depends on how aesthetically pleasing the plaza is once it’s finished. I think they’re doing a pretty good job so far IMO. Hope I was helpful.
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Good point tbh

It's like Manchester Square--how many young folks like just kicking around it for insta photos? Doesn't really have anything else going for it right now as a destination (esp during COVID shutdowns) aside from Arcadia brewing.
 
God said:
Hello, I’m not exactly knew here ive been reading the forums for months and closer to a year. The sign is meant to be a trendy spot to take pictures and post on your Instagram. This is something the city really needs. Similar to the Toronto sign in Toronto. Taking pictures and posting it will hopefully get people to ask where that location is and it’ll get talked about more in and out of the city. That’s the goal at least. It all depends on how aesthetically pleasing the plaza is once it’s finished. I think they’re doing a pretty good job so far IMO. Hope I was helpful.
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If you are looking for a sign from God, this is it.
 
nv96 said:
Good point tbh

It's like Manchester Square--how many young folks like just kicking around it for insta photos? Doesn't really have anything else going for it right now as a destination (esp during COVID shutdowns) aside from Arcadia brewing.
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Exactly. I’ve never heard of Manchester square until I had started seeing pictures of it on my Instagram feed. Now it’s a place local people and tourists go for pictures. They have the opportunity to do the same thing with ice district. These free Saturday events that they’re doing is really good. It’s a good step forward.
 
Before we get a downtown Ikea we need like 10,000 more residents there haha.

I agree with Ian. The tension now is...does it just become another set of ground floor retail bays to fill? Or is it an entertainment district?

From a company perspective, you need to protect the brand. But it might be too late for that already.
 
thommyjo said:
Before we get a downtown Ikea we need like 10,000 more residents there haha.

I agree with Ian. The tension now is...does it just become another set of ground floor retail bays to fill? Or is it an entertainment district?

From a company perspective, you need to protect the brand. But it might be too late for that already.
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I think it’ll all change once Rogers place starts having events and hockey games.
 
thommyjo said:
Before we get a downtown Ikea we need like 10,000 more residents there haha.

I agree with Ian. The tension now is...does it just become another set of ground floor retail bays to fill? Or is it an entertainment district?

From a company perspective, you need to protect the brand. But it might be too late for that already.
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10,000... more like 100,000
 
IanO said:
10,000... more like 100,000
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Nope. Neither. When you remember that the only Ikea we have is almost out of the city, it would likely appeal to anyone living north of the river, AT LEAST, but I dare say that anyone north 63/Argyll, at least, would be better off with an Ikea downtown.
That's not saying it would be a good fit for the Ice District. I still believe it should try to be an entertainment district and an Ikea would probably be better suited to go in the Warehouse District area, which needs the foot traffic at least as much (if not more) than the Ice District.

As for generating year-round traffic to the Ice District plaza, a few things would help. Hosting more sports events outside of NHL's season would be a start (the NBA, for example, has the development league, which is regularly played in places that usually don't have an NBA presence but with a big fanbase. Basketball is the second most popular team sports in Canada, mind you... we might never be a market for an NBA team, but wouldn't hurt to receive a few games every once in a while, the development league is usually the start of it.
 
It's the wrong fit for anywhere around there anyways, but yes, 'neither' is the actual answer.
 
ChazYEG said:
Nope. Neither. When you remember that the only Ikea we have is almost out of the city, it would likely appeal to anyone living north of the river, AT LEAST, but I dare say that anyone north 63/Argyll, at least, would be better off with an Ikea downtown.
That's not saying it would be a good fit for the Ice District. I still believe it should try to be an entertainment district and an Ikea would probably be better suited to go in the Warehouse District area, which needs the foot traffic at least as much (if not more) than the Ice District.

As for generating year-round traffic to the Ice District plaza, a few things would help. Hosting more sports events outside of NHL's season would be a start (the NBA, for example, has the development league, which is regularly played in places that usually don't have an NBA presence but with a big fanbase. Basketball is the second most popular team sports in Canada, mind you... we might never be a market for an NBA team, but wouldn't hurt to receive a few games every once in a while, the development league is usually the start of it.
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We actually have a professional basketball team here! They're the Edmonton Stingers, and they're part of the Canadian Elite Basketball League. I'm not sure if they tried to get a spot at Rogers, but it could certainly boost their prestige. I'd love to see something like that occupy Rogers during the Oilers' off-months, and even their off-days.
 
IanO said:
It's the wrong fit for anywhere around there anyways, but yes, 'neither' is the actual answer.
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Ian, and why would it not be a good fit for Downtown? Too suburban for you?

For crying out loud, we need these sort of things to stop people from thinking it's easier to live in the suburbs, since they have to do EVERYTHING there anyways. Hardware store? no fit for downtown! Ikea? same! Costco? NEVER!
Hell, our downtown core barely has fast food restaurants outside of a decaying mall (it might sound silly but they actually generate TONS of traffic). We need this sort of things! People go to these places and they spend money there, and they will regardless of location, but if there's one closer, they'll probably go there.

I'm not advocating for a humungous Ikea with a giant surface parking lot that takes 4 city blocks, for example. But a smaller scale store, like the have a few around, in a podium, with underground parking, yeah? Why not? Why not anchor a new tower with one? Generate the interest and a stream of revenue that a developer might need to go ahead with a project?

Frankly, Ian, I don't get you. Whenever someone suggests something that has worked well in other places and that could improve our downtown, you ALWAYS dismiss it and keep circling around the same argument of density, when you don't just dismiss it as a bad idea for good, without any explanation. It is confusing!
 
CplKlinger said:
We actually have a professional basketball team here! They're the Edmonton Stingers, and they're part of the Canadian Elite Basketball League. I'm not sure if they tried to get a spot at Rogers, but it could certainly boost their prestige. I'd love to see something like that occupy Rogers during the Oilers' off-months, and even their off-days.
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That's the thing: people here, even basketball fans, barely know about the team. Playing at Rogers would help, sure, but maybe even having a few exhibition games against the NBA's training camp/development league teams would generate even more interest (which would be great for the Stingers and for the CEBL).
And I would love to see more stuff going on at Rogers when the oilers are not playing. We do need to remember, though, that music concerts are probably making a huge comeback next year, which will definitely boost the arena usage!
 
ChazYEG said:
Hell, our downtown core barely has fast food restaurants outside of a decaying mall (it might sound silly but they actually generate TONS of traffic).
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My friends and I visited that mall last Saturday while looking for a bite to eat. The website said that some food places, like the A&W and Booster Juice, closed at 6:00 PM. When we got there at around 5:10, literally everything was already locked up. Including the food places, which the website said were open. There were some people still walking around, but there was nothing to see aside from locked rolling screens blocking all the stores and food places. Also, instead of there being a food court, it seemed like the food places were scattered around the 3ish storey mall. We had to wander for a solid 5-10 minutes just to find the Booster Juice closed. Suffice to say, I don't get how this could be a convenient place to visit for lunch or dinner. I guess some office workers might have their go-to for lunch, but given that the food venues are scattered who-knows where and the mall doesn't provide seating (there might be inside some of the fast food joints I guess?), it just seems like too much effort for the average tourist or visitor.
 
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