Fort Edmonton Park, a beloved City of Edmonton attraction in the North Saskatchewan River Valley, is moving from seasonal operation to year-round.
The province announced the change while revealing more details about the $33-million investment in the park announced in the last provincial budget.
READ MORE: Alberta budget 2016: What’s in it for Edmonton?
Premier Rachel Notley joined representatives of Fort Edmonton Park to reveal the funding – delivered over three years – will expand the 1920s midway, Hotel Selkirk and the Indigenous Peoples’ Experience exhibit.
Notley said the project “will expand the Indigenous Peoples’ Experience in a respectful and historically accurate way.”
“Long before Alberta became a province, Fort Edmonton played a pivotal role as an economic hub and gathering place for traders and this province’s First Peoples and Métis,” the premier said. “With this investment through the Alberta Jobs Program, an important chapter in our history will be shared and the economic impact of this historic site will continue to grow into the future with new employment and business opportunities.”
Notley said the hotel will be expanded to accommodate more visitors close to the main attractions, including the growing Johnny J. Jones Midway.
The province said the project will create roughly 455 full-time jobs during construction and 57 permanent positions once the Fort Edmonton Park expansion is ready for business.
The change from seasonal to year-round operations will generate about $7 million in economic activity for Edmonton and $23 million for Alberta, Notley said.
The premier was joined by city councillor Dave Loken and Métis Nation of Alberta president Audrey Poitras.
In 2015, the park saw 170,000 summer visitors. Annual summer attendance is expected to increase by 76,000 by 2021.
“This contribution will ensure the Fort Edmonton Management Company can continue moving forward as per the vision set out in the 2010 Master Plan,” Bill Demchuk, Fort Edmonton Management Company executive director, said. “The park’s reputation will be enhanced as a world-class, historical living history experience showcasing the rich and dynamic story of Edmonton and surrounding region.”
READ MORE: $45M expansion at Fort Edmonton will tell First Nations story
Fort Edmonton Park and the Confederacy of Treaty Six First Nations signed a Memorandum of Understanding in January 2015 to work to incorporate the history of First Nations into the cultural programming at the park.
Last summer Fort Edmonton officials said the park needed a major makeover, as the underground utilities like water, sewage and power need to be replaced for the first time in over four decades.
Watch below: Past coverage of expansions and events at Fort Edmonton Park
Construction was expected to start in late 2017 or 2018. Fort Edmonton Park could be closed for two years, but park officials said that would be the worst case scenario. Instead, they hoped to complete the work during the low season without disrupting visitors. At the time a contractor and timeline hadn’t been decided.
READ MORE: Fort Edmonton Park construction could cause lengthy closure
The entire park redevelopment, including the utility upgrades, has a price tag of approximately $160 million. Edmonton City Council committed $70 million towards the utilities upgrade work in 2014.
In April, the park said it was in talks with the federal government, Department of Canadian Heritage, as well as with potential private and corporate contributors, to secure the rest of the money.
The 64-hectare park has long been a popular Edmonton attraction, featuring the city’s history from the fur trading days with the 1846 Hudson’s Bay Fort, as well as the Streets of 1885, 1905, and 1920, depicting the evolution of Edmonton’s early history. It was built as a 1967 Canada Centennial project.
It was visited by Prince Charles and Diana as they embarked on their first tour of Canada in 1983.