An unsightly lot on St. Albert Trail is getting a facelift, says the president and CEO of the city’s chamber of commerce.
Lynda Moffat said a team of business people in the city is getting together to display some large art and planters on the empty lot at 203 St. Albert Trail.
The lot, which is located across the street from the St. Albert Inn, once housed a gas station and well site. It remains undeveloped because the soil is still contaminated and the fumes need to be vented. But it’s an eyesore and the chamber has wanted to make it look prettier for a long time, said Moffat.
“It will be a source of pride instead of a source of shame,” she said.
Moffat said she first came up with the idea of beautifying the lot a few years ago when she sat on the St. Albert Trail improvement committee. While it has taken some time to get the development permits and funding in place, the chamber is now getting ready to replace the post and cable fence that surrounds the lot with an iron fence.
It will also build planters on the site for plants and shrubs. And Moffat hopes that some artists in the community will donate pieces to go on display on the lot. Ideally, the art should be large and visible from the road, she said.
“I think there is place for five pieces of art and we would like to have one of them be from an aboriginal artist,” she said. “We want it to be bright and colourful and pretty and an example of the type of art this particular artist does.”
Construction of the new fence and planters will start soon but the plants and art will likely arrive in the spring. There won’t be any walking trails on the site, though, only a small parking lot for the company monitoring the old well site, and the business that owns the billboard on the lot. It’s only for people to look at who are driving by, said Moffat.
“It will be very nice. I am excited,” she said.
She added that while the chamber is spearheading the project, there are many business people in the city who are helping to make it happen. They are donating money, labour and material to the project, and are still looking for more help. Anyone interested in working on the project can contact the chamber at 780-458-2833.
