Yes, Alberta Avenue has had a number of setbacks over the years and this project would have helped with a small-scale reversal (landed in the dumpster pre-COVID). I know the area because it includes the house that I grew up in near Delton Elementary where I attended (grades 1 to 6) and Eastwood Junior High (grade 7) before we moved out of the area. First came the loss of the packing plants -- Swift, Burns, and Canada Packers; and more recently the demise of Northlands. Alberta Avenue used to be a pretty vibrant street -- not so any more.
The meatpacking industry in Edmonton declined in the 1980s, when many of the plants converted to distribution centers. The Burns plant was demolished in 1988, and the Canada Packers plant was demolished in 1995. The original Swifts building was demolished in 2002.
The industry's decline was marked by poor working conditions, including low pay, dangerous substances, injuries, and worker abuse. Several of the fathers on my block worked at the Packing Plants. Peter Pocklington (grandpapa of the Edmonton Oilers) actually owned Swifts for a period of time.
