What do you think of this project?

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This is probably a dumb question, but what is stopping them from building an observation deck on one of the top floors plus an admission desk on the ground floor for accessing an existing elevator?
 
_urbanite said:
I don't think an observation deck on the top floor would really be that big of a draw here. Sure, it would draw some people (mostly tourists from nearby hotels), but we're not really a big tourist or business travel destination. Limited impact on any ground level retail and hospitality
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hmmm, I'd argue that one of the reasons why we're not a big tourist destination is because we overlook opportunities like that one to add a tourist attraction.

Take that top floor (or the one below), make it into an observation deck, put a nice restaurant that is not necessarily crazy expensive (like the Calgary Tower) and people will come. May not form huge lineups like at the CN tower, but would 100% get some steady flux of people, and create a little bit of buzz that could grow into something more, and add a new, different, kind of destination to DT.

It's the little things that, compounded, will help turn DT around.

Edit: Edmonton is the only 1M+ city in Canada without a public observation deck.

Toronto - CN Tower - 346m
Montreal - Olympic Stadium - 165m
Vancouver - Harbour Centre - 168m
Calgary - Calgary Tower - 191m
Ottawa - Peace Tower - 93m

And both Winnipeg and Quebec City also have one, CMHR Tower at 100m and Observatoire de la Capitale, at 132m respectively, which makes Edmonton the only major metro area in Canada without one, despite having the bragging rights to the tallest building outside of Toronto. Sounds VERY counterintuitive.
 
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ChazYEG said:
hmmm, I'd argue that one of the reasons why we're not a big tourist destination is because we overlook opportunities like that one to add a tourist attraction.

Take that top floor (or the one below), make it into an observation deck, put a nice restaurant that is not necessarily crazy expensive (like the Calgary Tower) and people will come. May not form huge lineups like at the CN tower, but would 100% get some steady flux of people, and create a little bit of buzz that could grow into something more, and add a new, different, kind of destination to DT.

It's the little things that, compounded, will help turn DT around.

Edit: Edmonton is the only 1M+ city in Canada without a public observation deck.

Toronto - CN Tower - 346m
Montreal - Olympic Stadium - 165m
Vancouver - Harbour Centre - 168m
Calgary - Calgary Tower - 191m
Ottawa - Peace Tower - 93m

And both Winnipeg and Quebec City also have one, CMHR Tower at 100m and Observatoire de la Capitale, at 132m respectively, which makes Edmonton the only major metro area in Canada without one, despite having the bragging rights to the tallest building outside of Toronto. Sounds VERY counterintuitive.
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I was going to say, you can’t do a stand-alone observation deck imo. But a restaurant or cafe even would draw traffic.
 
ChazYEG said:
hmmm, I'd argue that one of the reasons why we're not a big tourist destination is because we overlook opportunities like that one to add a tourist attraction.

Take that top floor (or the one below), make it into an observation deck, put a nice restaurant that is not necessarily crazy expensive (like the Calgary Tower) and people will come. May not form huge lineups like at the CN tower, but would 100% get some steady flux of people, and create a little bit of buzz that could grow into something more, and add a new, different, kind of destination to DT.

It's the little things that, compounded, will help turn DT around.

Edit: Edmonton is the only 1M+ city in Canada without a public observation deck.

Toronto - CN Tower - 346m
Montreal - Olympic Stadium - 165m
Vancouver - Harbour Centre - 168m
Calgary - Calgary Tower - 191m
Ottawa - Peace Tower - 93m

And both Winnipeg and Quebec City also have one, CMHR Tower at 100m and Observatoire de la Capitale, at 132m respectively, which makes Edmonton the only major metro area in Canada without one, despite having the bragging rights to the tallest building outside of Toronto. Sounds VERY counterintuitive.
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Does La Ronde count?
 
ChazYEG said:
Up to a point, but it is exclusively a restaurant, so I feel like it would fall into a bit of a limbo, because one can't just pay a small fee and got chill out up there without consuming, I guess. I could be wrong tho, haven't been there in years.
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It's a nice experience every few years, book an hour for a full rotation and chill out with your favourite beverage.
 
ChazYEG said:
hmmm, I'd argue that one of the reasons why we're not a big tourist destination is because we overlook opportunities like that one to add a tourist attraction.

Take that top floor (or the one below), make it into an observation deck, put a nice restaurant that is not necessarily crazy expensive (like the Calgary Tower) and people will come. May not form huge lineups like at the CN tower, but would 100% get some steady flux of people, and create a little bit of buzz that could grow into something more, and add a new, different, kind of destination to DT.

It's the little things that, compounded, will help turn DT around.

Edit: Edmonton is the only 1M+ city in Canada without a public observation deck.

Toronto - CN Tower - 346m
Montreal - Olympic Stadium - 165m
Vancouver - Harbour Centre - 168m
Calgary - Calgary Tower - 191m
Ottawa - Peace Tower - 93m

And both Winnipeg and Quebec City also have one, CMHR Tower at 100m and Observatoire de la Capitale, at 132m respectively, which makes Edmonton the only major metro area in Canada without one, despite having the bragging rights to the tallest building outside of Toronto. Sounds VERY counterintuitive.
Click to expand...
Yes, this is kind of like the C or D student arguing it is not worth the effort to become a B or A student. It becomes a self fulling situation.

The last time Edmonton made any serious effort to be a tourist destination was when a big mall was built here in the early 1980's. Of course that has little or no benefit for downtown.

Every since then we have been mostly resting on our laurels as meager as they are.
 
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