Five years after the Northlands Coliseum closed, the Edmonton landmark has become more of a problem.
“I think taking that down would be a great sign to developers that the city means business and that we’re going to get this project moving,” Parkdale-Cromdale Community League civics director Anthony Oliver said.
The community league wants the old arena gone and the central Edmonton area around it redeveloped soon.
Oliver said new houses and businesses could help battle social disorder in the area.
“We still are picking up needles all over the place,” Oliver said.
The city has committed $35 million to tear down the Coliseum, but there’s no specific date for that. The area’s city councillor said the commitment is significant.
“It’s really an integral part of getting this land prepped so that it can be developed in the future,” Ward Métis Coun. Ashley Salvador said.
But even before demolition, those plans are taking shape. The 20-year Exhibition Lands redevelopment project is about to begin.
The plan aims to transform the 160-acre area into housing, retail, commercial and recreational spaces, as well as two urban plazas beside two LRT stations.
The city said it initially wanted to start selling parcels of land in the summer but decided to delay sales to explore “what it would take” to build a net-zero community, which it plans to do now.
“It may include some district energy on site such as what is at Blatchford,” Edmonton Exhibition Lands project lead Lovey Grewal said.
The Blatchford development is transforming another historic part of Edmonton — the old municipal airport lands — into a residential community with its own geothermal district energy facility.
The city said while materials for the Northlands redevelopment will cost more, it did not have to increase its budget ask.
“We can actually put dollars behind the groundwork and infrastructure that needs to happen, in order to get parcels ready to go and that’s $53 million worth,” Salvador said.
The city said it plans to start selling parcels of land on the south part of the site in the new year. Next, developers will focus on the space south of the Expo Centre before finally tackling the area where the Coliseum now stands.
“It’s definitely a priority, it’s not very often you get a large infill site like this one in the central city directly connected to transit close to our downtown, so it is really important to start to see progress,” Salvador said.
Big steps Oliver hopes will soon lead to new landmarks.
“It seems far away and within my lifetime I’d certainly like to see some develops go up and growth of our community,” Oliver said.
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