[IanO]

Agreed that the restaurant in the Fed should have gone ahead... with a cafe/bar as planned. Alas.

It was to have had an upscale spot on the main floor in the SWC, but the bar/cafe coming down the small stairs at the south end of the main into the grand foyer with outdoor patio in that treed area.

 

[Gronk!]

Install an upscale cafe/pub in the east end of the Haultain Building, which is currently under renovations.

 

[IanO]

The Fed is already set up to receive it and is a better location for visibility, events, catering and views.

 

[Airboy]

From what I remember from the last renovation to the Haultain. even after this reno there will be limited space.

 

[IanO]

^will their large food court still be there?

 

[CplKlinger]

Agreed that the restaurant in the Fed should have gone ahead... with a cafe/bar as planned. Alas.

It was to have had an upscale spot on the main floor in the SWC, but the bar/cafe coming down the small stairs at the south end of the main into the grand foyer with outdoor patio in that treed area.

I heard a bit about that during my time at the Leg. Timmies apparently came closest to opening, but that fell through due to the pandemic. It turns out however, that the cafe space needs capital investment before it can accommodate actual cooking. I believe the issue is that it doesn't have the sort of ventilation needed to allow cooking. When a cafe did open there, it was run as a satellite operation of the law court cafeteria; they'd cook the hot food at the ELC kitchen then drive it over for the day. If it went well, then money would get put into the renovation needed for proper ventilation so that everything could be done in-house. Sadly, I guess it was a money pit instead and it shut down. Personally, I think their biggest mistake was catering to the internal GOA/LAO crowd. In order to allow Timmies to operate outside of building hours, the Fed building got renovated to add exterior doors that were completely walled off from the rest of the lobby. The recent cafe did not take advantage of this, and had very poor hours; when I did tours on Saturdays, I couldn't even refer visitors there when they were hungry because the cafe was only open on week days.

I looked through a few different plans and documents just now, since I'm with the GoA, but none of them mention the cafe doubling as a bar. It is interesting to see that they originally intended for a restaurant and a cafe to exist in the main floor at the same time though. It looks like they retained the roughed-in mechanical services and exhaust duct for that restaurant space so it could still become a restaurant in the future, but even pre-pandemic there just wasn't much interest among private operators in having a restaurant there.

 

[IanO]

There was originally to be a cafe top of stairs as you enter and a full service restaurant. An RFP was issued once or twice, but little response. I do believe that HVAC was an issue, but there were provisions in the initial design too, so it is likely depending on a few factors.

The cafe was not to double, but the full serve restaurant was to have a bar and lounge.

I may have the plans kicking around still...

 

[Oilguy]

I can imagine the trepidation of any potential proprietor of a food service place there. I’m not sure a full service restaurant is a good starting point. A few different offerings maybe? A top notch pretzel and bratwurst stand, a hot chocolate place, ice cream in the summer. All high quality stuff that gets a good reputation maybe.

 

[scyeg]

I wish there was a pedestrian bridge from the west side of 109 Street to the legislature grounds. We like to take the streetcar from Whyte DT and then go for a walk through the grounds during the summer and crossing 109 is always the most annoying part. This would also improve access to DT for all the residential west of 109 and south of Jasper into DT.

 

[Gronk!]

I wish there was a pedestrian bridge from the west side of 109 Street to the legislature grounds. We like to take the streetcar from Whyte DT and then go for a walk through the grounds during the summer and crossing 109 is always the most annoying part. This would also improve access to DT for all the residential west of 109 and south of Jasper into DT.

A viable alternative to a pedestrian bridge is transforming the 109 St/97 Ave intersection into a roundabout. Pedestrians and cyclists can then utilize the MUPs with just yellow warning signals or no signals at all - no more beg buttons!

 

[thommyjo]

High Level Line had a vision to essentially tunnel the HLB entrances and connect the park above the glenora stairs with the legislature grounds. That’d solve most of the connectivity needs for walking and bikes.

 

[archited]

^ makes zero sense.

 

[thommyjo]

^ makes zero sense.

How so?? Projects like this are regularly very successful.

 

[Filip.Nowak]

Filip Nowak on Instagram: "Friendly reminder that this is what the Alberta Legislature Grounds are going to look like in just a few months 😌 #edmonton #yeg #exploreedmonton #travelalberta #edmontonalberta #edmontonviews #edmontonrivervalley #alberta

40 likes, 6 comments - filipnowak97 on January 12, 2025: "Friendly reminder that this is what the Alberta Legislature Grounds are going to look like in just a few months 😌 #edmonton #yeg #exploreedmonton #travelalberta #edmontonalberta #edmontonviews #edmontonrivervalley #albertacanada...

www.instagram.com

 

[archited]

How so?? Projects like this are regularly very successful.

Short term interim solution that is very expensive. A new High Level Bridge is a must -- and the old must be preserved whereby the auto decks become retail/hospitality outlets that connect 109th Street northland south. The upper deck should be developed as a park; the new bridge should make allowances for connecting the old bridge and the new bridge to the Legislature Grounds. BTW the upper deck should be an MUP AND a year-round Streetcar roadway that extends from Grant MacEwan U. in the north to a new HSR Station on CPKC Rail lands at 76th Avenue in the south. The old HighLevel Bridge is historic and should be preserved (ideally encased in glass) so that it does not continue to deteriorate. There are groups that are reviewing possibilities as I write this very note.