It’s been nearly a decade since revitalization efforts began in Edmonton’s Alberta Avenue neighbourhood. But while more businesses and community initiatives have set up shop along 118 Avenue, community members say there’s more work to be done.
“I think right now, we’re finally getting roots. We have new businesses… the façade program. It just has to keep going,” said Christy Morin, executive director of Arts on the Ave.
“Ten years – it seems like a long time but really it’s not that long.”
Morin has lived in Alberta Avenue for 24 years. A decade ago, the city approached the community to discuss how best to bring life back into the rundown part of Edmonton.
The partnership came along with a funding commitment from the city, with the money going towards things like community block parties, festivals and other initiatives to attract people to the avenue.
While businesses have opened and progress has been made, signs of the neighbourhood’s derelict past remain.
“I love it during the day. It’s so full of life and it’s fun,” said Chelsea Chopin, who has lived in Alberta Avenue with her family for seven years.
“At nighttime, it gets a little bit scarier so we don’t go out as much.”
Earlier this month, more concern arose for the community when it learned the Avenue Initiative Funding was in jeopardy. The city planned to pull out the $300,000 in funding it contributes to revitalization efforts in Alberta Avenue and direct it elsewhere.
“When we heard it was going to be dismissed and pulled out in the next two years, we were like, ‘This is peanuts.’ We’re doing so much with so little,” Morin said.
“There are a lot of pillars that haven’t been met in the initial revitalization, so we need that… when you get a movement going, you can’t walk out of it.”
The community banded together, sending hundreds of letters to city council in hopes of reversing the decision.
“I would be very concerned if the city just moved on, because it has cleaned up quite a bit from what it used to be and it’s been great but I feel like if they pull the funding it’s just going to slide back into what it was,” Chopin explained. “It’s just not a good idea.”
The community’s wish came true and the city reversed its decision. But questions arose about how long these types of efforts should take, and at what point should communities wean themselves off city money to stand on their own.
“It’s knowing how long the neighbourhood was allowed to decay and suffer,” Morin said, “…and had so many pinch points of crime.
“And so, how does the city want to respond in trying to build that up together with community? It’s going to take dollars. One way or the other, dollars are going to be fed into the community, whether it’s responsive or if it’s proactive.”
The goal is to eventually attract private dollars, but Morin admits that too can take time.
For Chopin, continued revitalization means more police presence and cleanup efforts. But she acknowledges the commitment from the community is unwavering.
“This is a great community. We’re actually super focused on each other and helping each other out.”
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