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City pushed to expropriate land for downtown Edmonton park
Chris Buyze says he got his Christmas wish early, after learning city administration is pushing hard for a new downtown park.

Administration is set to recommend council approve expropriating land for a public park in the so-called Warehouse district, when they deliver a report to council on Wednesday.

Buyze, the president of the Downtown Edmonton Community League, couldn't be happier.

The potential park would be located near Jasper Avenue and 106 Street, which is currently a surface parking lot about 1.25 hectares in size.

The park was part of the city’s capital downtown plan released in 2010.

dtownpark.jpg.size.xxlarge.promo.jpg

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Full Story (Metro Edmonton)
 
Kind of strange that they aren't trying to get a full block... I imagine 107 Street will continue be an important link through the Warehouse District, so to have a central park on both sides of the street is not very inviting.
 
@chrisvazquez7 I think that they are only expropriating surface parking areas and I don't expect that they will turn all of the land so gathered into a park. Rather, I expect that one of the contiguous groups will become a park and the rest will be banked for other purposes.
 
City buying up land to build a 'highly attractive' downtown park
Edmonton has decided to turn a second set of surface parking lots into a green, grassy park and is starting to expropriate the land from current landowners.

Alex Decoteau Park is being built on a city-owned parking lot. But this new park north of Jasper Avenue on both sides of 107 Street, is owned by four different companies. It’s currently a massive gravel parking lot north of Audreys Book and the Boston Pizza.

City officials brought expropriation proceedings to the urban planning committee Wednesday, then postponed the debate to Feb. 15 because one landowner said he could likely sell voluntarily before then.

Full Story (Edmonton Journal)

Downtown Edmonton park proposal postponed
The city's push to expropriate land to build a downtown park was delayed Wednesday after one landowner said they’d rather pen a deal than be forced to sell.

Discussion on the park will come back to council Feb. 15.

Full Story (Metro Edmonton)
 
'Goodbye gravel, hello green': city planners hope to convert parking lots to green space
Officials will have to wait until February before they learn whether they'll get the green light on a proposal to build a neighbourhood park in downtown Edmonton.

Warehouse Campus Neighbourhood Central Park, slated to be built between 106th and 107th Streets and Jasper and 102 avenues, would cover 1.25 hectares. The area includes 18 commercial lots — all of which are currently functioning as surface parking lots. The lots have four different owners who have expressed interest in selling to the city — though no deals are finalized yet.

The money would be taken out of the city's downtown community revitalization levy.

The fact the owners are considering selling all the lots provides a unique opportunity for the city, said Duncan Fraser, an urban planner for the City of Edmonton.

Full Story (CBC Edmonton)
 
City to force downtown Edmonton landowners to give up lots for park
A city committee is backing a plan to turn gravel into green space by creating a new park downtown.

Councillors on the urban planning committee voted Wednesday to support a process that would force four downtown landowners to sell their gravel parking lots to build a new park in the core.

The park would replace 18 surface gravel parking lots — an area slightly bigger than Churchill Square — on both sides of 107 Street between Jasper Ave and 102 Ave in the so-called Warehouse District.

“These sites have remained undeveloped for at least two decades,” said senior planner Duncan Fraser.

City officials said attempts to negotiate with property owners have been unsuccessful, resulting in the push for expropriation.

http://www.metronews.ca/news/edmont...n-edmonton-landowners-give-lots-for-park.html

City to force downtown Edmonton landowners to give up land for park
Councillors voted Wednesday to back a process that would force four downtown landowners to sell their property to build a new city park.

The park is being designed for a series of 18 lots on both sides of 107 Street, an area slightly bigger than Churchill Square. The land covered by the expropriation is owned by four different companies and is currently a series of gravel parking lots north of Audreys Books and Boston Pizza.

“These sites have remained undeveloped for at least two decades,” said senior planner Duncan Fraser, calling the project an important catalyst for residential development.

“It’s what planners call beach-front property, if you will,” said Gary Klassen, deputy city manager for sustainable development. “We need this kind of development to occur in this area.”

http://edmontonjournal.com/news/loc...to-transform-downtown-parking-lots-into-parks
 
Saw this today on an email sent to me -- hopefully it is the first step in hiring a landscape architect to do the parkspace justice.
Screenshot 2019-01-09 12.55.26.png

Here's what I like about the concept as presented so far -- I like the notion of an "activated back lane" that would tie the park to the existing Beaver Hills Park and the Michael Phair Park. I hope that the powers that be can convince the proposed developments on the east side of 106th street (the Shift et al) to honour the intent of the activated alley -- and I like the proposed bike lane that would split the two developments. I like the notion of bike lanes adjacent to the park. I like the idea of a cross-street pedestrian link mid-block on 107th street (that should continue cross street on 106th street as well, perhaps in conjunction with the proposed bicycle lane there). It would actually be nice it the City closed 107th Street between Jasper Ave. and 102nd Ave. completely! Instead of just having a passive park wouldn't it be cool to have some active elements in the park -- perhaps a themed art gallery that "grows out of the park" with tiered levels of planting on a "green roof" (show Katz how it ought to be done); or an outdoor sit-in cinema screen (Alberta content) with built-in heated seating (winter thought); or a light-themed sculpture park; or a "blues alley" themed music way (linear park along the alley north of Jasper Avenue); or an elevated pedway with operable roof sections that would encourage buildings -- existing and planned -- to connect into the passageway and, thereby, connecting the rear of the buildings fronting Jasper with new developments -- something that would connect all of the downtown parks together including Alex Decoteau; or perhaps all of these at once :cool:.
 
Long term LRT plans still use 107th,
There was an interesting video article by Elise Stolte where the interviewee panned the idea of an LRT bisecting the park. With overhead power lines many park-like functions like flying kites and playing ball would have to be banned. Personally, I don't see the need for 107th street LRT when so many other LRT lines will be accessible nearby.
 
Central Park set to be new downtown landmark
May 31, 2019

The City is preparing an international design competition to collect the best and brightest design ideas for a major centrepiece downtown: the Warehouse Campus Neighborhood Central Park.

The project vision, goals and design parameters to inform the international design competition will be shared at two upcoming drop-in information sessions.

Date: Tuesday, June 4
Time: 11 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. and 4 - 7 p.m.
Location: NorQuest College, 10215 108 Street

Several years in the works, the project marked a major milestone earlier this year when the final piece of land needed for Central Park was acquired.

Located in the Downtown Warehouse District, the Warehouse Campus Neighborhood Central Park will cover 1.25 hectares (roughly 12 500 square meters or just over two football fields) between 106 - 107 Street and Jasper Ave - 102 Ave. It is a significant Catalyst Project identified in the Capital City Downtown Plan and fully funded by the Capital City Downtown Community Revitalization Levy.

For more information:
edmonton.ca/warehousecentralpark
 

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