It takes a lot of patience to build a city, and even more to rebuild one, says a builder familiar with developments in several capital region communities.
Urbanization of downtown cores, such as the one suggested in St. Albert's Downtown Area Redevelopment Plan, is a trend in many communities throughout Alberta and developers support it, Greg Christenson, president of Christenson Developments, says. But in order to attract developers, city planners must present more just than an idea.
Christenson spoke to the Gazette in light of the city's plans to redevelop it's downtown. The long-range plan calls for a high-density area with mixed commercial and residential development including some highrises and an LRT link with Edmonton, though much of these changes would be decades away. The plan is being launched with a realignment of St. Anne Street and the redevelopment of Grandin mall.
"Vision and leadership must come first for a community to grow and develop in Alberta," he says. "There has to be some background work done."
As more people become less car dependent and look to live, work and play close to or within their neighbourhood, more communities are planning for urban villages and nodes to retain their residents, says Christenson.
St. Albert has been a leader in this, he says.
But it's also easier for a city of more than 63,000 to attract new development, being so close to Edmonton. The further you go from the larger centre, the more difficult redevelopment becomes to finance, he says.
That's not to say development itself always comes easy.
Christenson says he's been burnt before, having to work with communities where redevelopment was not a priority and he was caught in arguments with the mayor and residents about how to move forward.
In order to grow, the community, council and administration need to work together to support a vision and have "an appetite for change," he says.
"If you are fighting all the way it is very tiring and frustrating," he says. "It has to do with the leadership, and the vision and the ability to be proactive and understand how to partner."
Change not easy
Changing the vision of the downtown area redevelopment plan (DARP) would be difficult, says Mayor Nolan Crouse.
The plan is locked into a bylaw. Changing that would require an opening of the bylaw and significant public involvement, he says.
But it's also a plan that comes to fruition little by little, he adds. That means a developer buying into it would still have to take a leap of faith.
"But that is the case with any development, whether it's DARP or whether it's buying farmland," he says. "You are buying something or investing in something based on the current vision."
Crouse added Amacon, the company now redeveloping the former Grandin mall site, is the only developer he has spoken with as part of DARP.
(Guy Boston, executive director of economic development, later confirmed that some other developers expressed interest in the plan but none can be confirmed at this time.)
Crouse expects there will be some public opposition to the plan in the future, especially when it comes to discussing highrises.
But DARP is an attempt to create both density and bring more tax revenue into a smaller footprint. And the reality is that cities of St. Albert's size will have to choose between urban sprawl or densification, he says.
"That is the reality of a city that is growing. And by the time we see those high rises we will have a 70,000 to 80,000, 90,000 population," he says.
Sherwood Park
In 2005, Sherwood Park began to develop a plan, similar in many ways to the one St. Albert is currently following.
"Centre in the Park" was expected to bring in new life to a green-field site adjacent to the city's county hall, located in the middle of the community.
The plan was to create a walkable, sustainable and multi-generational community that included new residential and commercial development, says economic development director Gerald Gabinet.
Part of that plan has since been developed, though much of it has gone through revisions, he says.
What it did create was a downtown, including a new meeting place, which now holds an indoor farmers' market, and a new county building and a library, he says.
"It brought a lot more life to and around the county hall," he says.
Sherwood's Park plan has changed over the years.
The city is now considering opportunities to support smaller businesses in the area, says Gabinet. The community also decided to cut down on the number of high-rises after discovering that many younger people have no interest in remaining there after moving out of their parents' home.
Rent in Edmonton is more affordable and many of them want "to get away" at first, he says. They later return, but then they shop for single-family homes.
"There wasn't the support for the increased density, the real high-rise density," he says. "There were also some plans around here limiting the height of those buildings."
More urbanization to come
While the downtown core is the first place St. Albert looks to reimagine itself, it won't be the last, says Christenson.
He expects the community will continue to build out its urban nodes, "whether it's out by the Enjoy Centre and southwest, or Citadel Village and the Sturgeon Hospital site."
"Downtown should always be one of those nodes but it may not be the only one once a community gets to a certain size," he says.
"The idea of the bedroom community, those days are past."
