Staff at Analog Coffee on 17 Avenue in downtown Calgary have been feeling a little jittery lately and it’s not from too much caffeine. The building at the corner of 17 Avenue and 7 street has been shaking from heavy equipment working.
“Last week with the heavy equipment has been probably the toughest. It’s loud and there’s a lot going on,” supervisor Josh Albers said.
“It’s necessary, but it closes down our patio space. One day you’ll have water just sort of flooding over everything.”
But starting Thursday night, the construction work stops and all of 17 Avenue will be opened up again for July and August.
City crews have been rebuilding the road and upgrading utilities for months, meaning traffic was shut down between 4 Street and 7 Street with the exception of sidewalks.
“I think it will be a very positive situation,” Esther Kelly with the 17 Avenue Retail and Entertainment District Business Improvement Area said.
The summer break is a change from last year when businesses further east along the street endured a construction all summer long.
“This year we worked really hard to maintain balance between what the community needs and what the businesses need and what the project needs so we can deliver this project successfully on time,” City of Calgary spokesperson Anna Melnick said.
The 17 Avenue Business Improvement Area said compared to pre-construction days this year, sales at restaurants and shops along 17 Avenue are down 40 per cent. While that is still tough for small businesses to swallow, it’s an improvement from the 70 per cent decline they experienced when construction began on the project in early 2017.
“The change is obviously a lot better than what some of the businesses were experiencing last year, but it’s still a ways to go and small businesses rely on their clients and customers to come and support them,” Kelly said. “We welcome everyone down to the avenue to do that regardless of construction.”
For the first time, the business district will be hosting parties on the two Saturdays during the 2018 Calgary Stampede at Tomkins Park as a way to say thank you to loyal customers and to bring back ones who may have been deterred by construction.
Construction starts again in September between 7 Street and 9 Street with the entire project expected to wrap up at 14 street in 2020.