Exhibition lands redevelopment: A new urban infill site in Edmonton

A large piece of land on the city’s north side is being prepared for redevelopment. The city now calls it the Edmonton Exhibition Lands, the site that Northlands used to call its home.

“The actual implementation for the development of this land will take some time,” explained Michelle Ouellette, a senior planner with the city.

At the start of the year, the city took control of the now closed Coliseum building, the Expo Centre and the surrounding lands, which total about 200 acres.

Planners are now looking at what can be done on the site, and have turned to the public for ideas.

“What we’ve been told at this point in time is the city will not be the developer,” said Brian Finley, the president of the Bellevue Community League.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "What we've been told at this point in time is the city will not be the developer," said Brian Finley, the president of the Bellevue Community League.

“I think the community has mixed views on what they want,” Finley said.

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He believes the process should have started several years ago, in the aftermath of the decision to move the hockey and concert business downtown to a new arena.

“Everything at this point in time feels positive, but as always, when we’re looking at a city project we have to be concerned.”

As the process moves ahead, one worry looms large: that a plan will be developed, but the site could sit idle because of all the competition for limited development; from the Blatchford site, to new suburban development.

“The redevelopment plan needs to come across with policies that are strong enough to shape what gets developed,” said Ouellette. “However, it also needs to be flexible enough to allow the marketplace to react.”

The plans also raise questions about the future of K-Days on the site. Northlands has a five-year agreement with the city to keep the festival on location. The timeline could be extended or reduced.

“From what I understand… in conversations with Northlands, they do have opportunities to potentially move that festival,” Ouellette explained. “And it wouldn’t be the end of a festival of that magnitude.

“The city has been pretty good about outreach.”

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According to the city, it could take 15 years for a build out.

“We want to make sure we get it right,” Finley said. “We want to make sure we don’t hurry it so fast, that we don’t do it correctly.”