The City of Edmonton is moving forward with plans to create a massive new public space in the downtown core.
Warehouse Park will cover 1.47 hectares of land — the size of over two football fields — on a large parcel of land between 106 Street and 108 Street and Jasper Avenue to 102 Avenue.
The city said the plans will include open spaces, a public washroom facility and will also renew streets and alleys around the space.
“(The park) is intended to become a community gathering place for those who live, work, play, and visit downtown, providing a space to come together to socialize, celebrate and recharge in the heart of downtown,” the city said in a news release Monday.
The land that will be used for the park is mainly paved parking lots that the city owns at the present moment, having worked to acquire them since the project concept began in 2017.
Last year, the city hired four Canadian companies to work on the park’s design, including gh3* out of Toronto as lead architecture firm, Claude Cormier + Associés out of Montreal for landscape design and Quebec’s Ombrages for lighting.
Final designs for the park are still being decided on, with a “formal” versus “organic” plan as the final two in the running.
The formal design would see straighter paths, more deliberate and straight plant placement and flattened terrain.
The organic design would be more meandering; with curved paths, a more natural feeling placement for the trees, and soft sloping hills included in the park.
Chris Buyze is the president of the Downtown Edmonton Community League. He said area residents don’t have a lot of outdoor space to enjoy, given many live in apartment and condominium buildings.
“Green space is really going to be a catalyst for more residents moving downtown, make it a place that people want to live long-term, be there with families,” he said.
Buyze hopes safety will be incorporated in the park’s design and include good lighting.
“We know we’re going to have to deal, once in a while, with some issues,” he said. “If it’s an attractive park and it’s busy all the time, then I don’t think we’ll have a lot of issues.”
The city has planned several in-person pop-up events in the next week to get public feedback on the design:
- Tuesday, May 3 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m at the YMCA Family Resource Centre at 9538-103A Avenue NW
- Friday, May 6 from 11: 30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Warehouse Park site at 10135-107 Street NW
- Saturday, May 7 from 10:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. at Alex Decoteau Park 10204-105 Street NW
For those who cannot attend in person, the city has also launched an online survey on the project, open until May 22.
An online forum will also take place on Tuesday, May 10 between 6:30 and 7:30 p.m., but those who wish to attend must register in advance.
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