City looks to breathe new life into its ‘heart and soul’

“Drawing inspiration from the past through development of a themed approach to Downtown planning, will further create a vibrant investment opportunity.”

The preservation of historical downtown buildings is critical, said Bob Gill, the manager of the Prince Albert Downtown Business Improvement District. Many of the historical buildings date back to the 1910s.

“That’s what makes any downtown unique, is its history and heritage of what our forefathers built for us, so that is absolutely great to see that that’s in the OCP, that they want to preserve the old historical buildings as much as possible,” Gill said.

He feels the plan covers all of the important aspects – housing, transportation, mixed uses, streetscaping and parking among them.

According to the plan, for downtown to maintain its place as a “consumer attraction,” future development should aim to accommodate larger anchor stores and entertainment facilities alongside niche markets, specialty shops and services.

Downtown is noted for its smaller, privately owned businesses, Gill said, but he knows the City is working to attract business to the area. Certain businesses can be of value to the downtown core, he added.

“So, we’d work with them (the City) to try and entice them (businesses) to set up shop in the downtown core as compared to elsewhere.”

Gill said to have a few more eateries and small pubs would be good. For people to have more places to eat and be entertained would assist efforts to create a better nightlife atmosphere, he said.

The plan outlines new policies which will address streetscape improvements, preserving or renovating older buildings, develop urban design guidelines, and support riverfront development .

It also sets out a goal for enhancing and improving Central Avenue’s role as the city’s “Main Street.”

Gill said this is something that’s critical, since Central Avenue is the main street downtown.

“The downtown is the heart and soul and when you’re standing in the middle of the downtown core here and you look and you have the museum at one end, you look up on the hill at the courthouse at the other, and they’re both heritage designated buildings, it just brings back the history and that’s all part of it.”

Another part of the City’s revitalization efforts that is more near term is what Mayor Greg Dionne is calling Central Avenue’s “big dig.” The project is a couple of years out, he said, but before it happens, the City will be consulting all of the area businesses.

“If you go downtown now, people are going ‘wow’ when they go by some of the buildings that Main Street has done. And so it’s incredible some of the work that’s going on there, and so any work we do, we just want to enhance that area,” Dionne said.

The downtown “big dig” will include the replacement of street lights, benches, sidewalks, he said. The City will also look at one-way versus two-way traffic, angle parking. Underground infrastructure, such as water pipes, will also be replaced. All of downtown Central Avenue, from 15th Street to River Street will be affected.

“Everything is on the table when it comes to that because this is a great opportunity for the BID (Prince Albert Downtown Business Improvement District), because once you do it, it’ll be the biggest change that’s probably ever happened on Central Avenue,” he added.

The City wanted to “jump into” this project next year after the roadwork on Second Avenue West was finished, Dionne said. The City put it on hold for two to three years, because it needed extra time.

With even more businesses on Central Avenue than along Second Avenue West, there is a potential for more businesses be disrupted.

Dionne said this is why the City will meet with the business owners.

“But they all realize by the end of the day, it has to be done. Sorry, but that’s reality.”

The City held the first of two open houses for the Official Community Plan at City Hall last Thursday. A second open house is planned for June 10.

tjames@panow.com

On Twitter: @thiajames

by Thia James

City looks to breathe new life into its ‘heart and soul’

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