SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Although the $1.45 million lot at the corner of 50 Street and Franklin Avenue remains empty, city councillors say no rushed decisions will be made just to see the space filled before the municipal election this fall.
A use for the lot at the corner of 50 Street and Franklin Avenue remains in question after the city purchased the space in December for $1.45 million. - Elaine Anselmi/NNSL photo
What would you like to see in the plans for the vacant lot at 50 Street and Franklin Avenue?
Coun. Bob Brooks: "I'm hoping because we have amalgamated the ownership on some of these lots, it'll make it more attractive to some of the big developers who were having trouble picking up one piece at a time."
Coun. Adrian Bell: "I'm not a fan of spending a lot of money there unless we have anchor tenants or some grander plan for 50 Street and downtown. I don't want to see us nervously build a park."
Coun. Niels Konge:
"Now that we own the damn thing, we've got to figure out something but I am not for parks. We have a beautiful park right in front of city hall ... two and a half blocks away."
Coun. Linda Bussey: "That spot can be used to build a multipurpose space. I know there's a big push to move the library into a more open area ... you could have maybe a mini-convention centre with a library on the second floor."
Coun. Dan Wong: "The City", a Yk ARCC event in 2013, "brought people back into that space to use it and challenged the stigma of that space and what its potential is. I think we need to get creative."
Coun. Cory Vanthuyne: "What worked back in the day as a festival or downtown activity that is no longer there? Why couldn't you bring that back in the meantime, while considering what might go on the 50/50 lot?"
Coun. Rebecca Alty: "Anything is better than nothing; whether it's a residential building or commercial building or mixed-use."
Coun. Phil Moon Son: Could not be reached for
comment. |
"It will need a lot of attention going forward but we're learning quickly that it's not something that you can wave a magic wand at and we'll get a brand new downtown," said Coun. Cory Vanthuyne.
Administration declined to comment on any current planning for the space, although councillors confirmed consultants have been meeting with council and reaching out to businesses in the area to discuss options.
In finding the most beneficial use for the space, Coun. Dan Wong said partnerships with businesses in the area - the mall in particular - are necessary.
"If everything went the way that it could best go, I could even see the mall buying back a portion of that land from us," said Wong. "Creating a new entrance way, building on that space with additional retail, coffee shops or something else to draw people into that space other than just simply a park."
In fact, seeing a public green space built and maintained in the lot, only a few blocks from the natural area surrounding Frame Lake, was largely agreed upon by council as a poor use of the space - though the issue itself has been divisive.
After much debate that split the councillors, the city purchased the 50/50 lot in December, with Mayor Mark Heyck casting the tie-breaking vote.
The team currently working on the project, including landscape architects, engineers and consultants to gather stakeholder feedback, were hired using funding from the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency (CanNor), which council voted to use back in January.
Although no businesses Yellowknifer contacted had spoken to the consultants at press time, some did offer opinions on what they would like to see in the space.
Kitty corner to the lot Jill Groenewegen, owner of Bijou Boutique, said continuing to use the space as a parking lot, possibly with the addition of a toll booth or metres to generate revenue, would benefit her businesses and others in the area.
"Because it is a parking lot right now, it wouldn't cost a lot to have that happen," said Groenewegen.
Across the street, Sutherland's Drugs owner Stephen Gwilliam was in favour of having another city park, though he said this wasn't necessarily for the benefit of his business.
"I always thought it would make a lovely green space myself," he said. "That's just a personal opinion."
In terms of business and social needs, Gwilliam said it would be ideal to see a territorial treatment facility.
"It would be lovely to have such a facility anywhere in the Northwest Territories."
Once consultation wraps up, the team will put together a report for council that will be considered along with administration's recommendations for the site.
"They mentioned that work needs to be done end of March, early April, hopefully there's a quick wrapup and we get to see something for discussion soon after that," said Wong.
"I'm hoping for a concrete proposal on the table before the snow melts, certainly before the summer."
Coun. Bob Brooks was more conservative with his expectations for the project, saying it would likely be the next council that votes on the plan.
"This council will be involved in the creation of the plan, as well the next council will be involved in the finalizing of the plan," said Brooks.
"Will the plan be ready before the next election? I doubt it."
The 50/50 lot is a part of an overall downtown revitalization project - a point Coun. Adrian Bell said was important to keep in mind.
"I think our focus on 50 Street is a bit myopic - we need to try to visualize what a revitalized downtown would look like," said Bell.
"My concern is that we're doing this piecemeal without a broader vision."
A recent push of Bell's has been to gather baseline data on the health of downtown, in order to assess the success of the city's attempts at revitalization.
Also seeing the broader picture, Vanthuyne said this sort of urban face-lift is happening in cities across Canada and a great deal can be learned from those successes - balancing both infrastructure and social needs.
"It's not just about building steel and concrete buildings either," said Vanthuyne. "It has to do with creating an energy and identifying what things we can do to bring back commerce and life and promote downtown Yellowknife as a place to actually live, work and play."
