‘Downtown district’ gets nod from council panel

A council committee voted to establish a “downtown district” Wednesday in a bid to align investment in an area home to the Glenbow Museum, Arts Commons, Olympic Plaza and the Telus Convention Centre.

The move stems from a 2018 notice of motion from Coun. Diane Colley-urquhart that asked to establish a “downtown convention district.”

The specific “convention” label has now been dropped, a change councillors welcomed, saying the neighbourhood is much more diverse.

The boundaries of the district run from Centre Street S. to 3rd St. S.E., and from the CP Rail tracks to the south to 5th Avenue S.E. to the north.

Coun. Druh Farrell said the area “frankly needs a tremendous amount of TLC.” City bureaucrats say that piece of downtown is experiencing “social disorder challenges” that are affecting Calgarians’ perceptions of how “safe” it is.

There are already major investments planned for the neighbourhood, including a significant renovation of Arts Commons, a redesign of Stephen Avenue and a $40-million upgrade for the Glenbow.

Just to the southeast, the city is already working on a $500-million expansion of the BMO Centre and preparing to build a new arena — part of a planned “cultural and entertainment district” in east Victoria Park.

The previous NDP provincial government agreed to extend a community revitalization levy in the Rivers District, east of downtown, to help fund work on the BMO Centre. That means the province relinquishes a portion of the property taxes collected in the area for another 20 years, and it’s expected to generate some $140 million for infrastructure, including the future expansion of Arts Commons.

Coun. Ward Sutherland said it’s important that the two districts don’t compete with each other, since the success of the cultural and entertainment district will fuel the new downtown district.

“It’s important that we don’t rob each other ... so we can move forward with these projects long term,” he said.

He’s also planning a notice of motion to discuss the future of the Telus Convention Centre. He said options should include selling it, since the BMO Centre upgrade will have more than a million square feet of space when it’s finished in 2024.

It’s important that we don’t rob each other … so we can move forward with these projects long term.