Grand plans for rejuvenating the dilapidated heart of Edmonton’s original downtown have come and gone several times over the last 25 years. In the early 90s, there was the Old Towne Market, a too-ambitious plan to create a public market between 96th and 97th Streets on the north side of Jasper Avenue. Then came the Jasper East Village project, which ended with a whimper four years ago.

But now, a new plan – the so-called “Downtown East” – could boldly go where no others have gone before. Mayor Stephen Mandel is enthusiastic the strategy to redevelop the downtown east side can turn it into a “showpiece for the city.”

The ambitious proposal will transform the 18-block district between 92nd and 97th Streets and from the lip of the river valley to 103 A Avenue. It includes four quadrants, anchored by a revitalized 96th Street, where ramshackle buildings are supplanted by new structures along a linear park, leading to an inclined funicular railway into the river valley.

Around the main corridor will be the Heritage Quarter, with is historic buildings, the McCauley Quarter, an extension of the residential housing to the north, the higher density of the Five Quarters Quarter and government institutions in the Civic Quarter.

The plan is, in the Mayor’s words, “a change to our downtown like no one has seen before.” At its meeting September 26th, city council unanimously agreed to push forward with planning for the initiative.

The grand vision was moulded and shaped by three public meetings and an Open House earlier this year that solicited opinions on what the transformation should contain.

Citizens said they wanted safer streets, trees and community gardens, more affordable housing, high density housing, neighbourhood shops, businesses and a return to a community of families. They expressed concern for the well-being of the current residents of the area and how important it is to ensure they continue to have a place to live in the community.

They spoke of a vision of the Downtown East area as a cultural showpiece, with museums and other attractions. There was a desire for natural sunlight, a view of the river valley for all to enjoy, the retention and incorporation of historic buildings with new residential construction.

Participants spoke of balance, safety and a desire to rebuild the neighbourhood. The response has been “remarkable,” in the words of Bob Caldwell, the city planning department’s project manager. “There’s a significant desire to move forward with strategies that will ensure Downtown East is a vibrant, interesting place to live and work. People want to see something happen.”

Caldwell observes that the long forsaken area, right next to the city’s arts district and financial district, is burbling with potential. “The location at the top of the valley is exceptional and the connection to the valley is very strong in peoples’ minds. We are being told to preserve the views and we heard over and over again that people want us to preserve the heritage and the culture.”

When it is complete, the area will be home to 10,000 residents – four times the current population of about 2,400. The redevelopment will impact existing residents and homes, and the city is proposing that, wherever possible, those who live in the district now will be able to remain there in new or renovated accommodation. If, however, that doesn’t occur, then the city is pledging to find transition housing, and that could well mean purchasing one or more buildings for that specific purpose.

Most of the redevelopment in the project area is expected to be carried out by the private sector, and strategies will need to be in place to ensure that those who now call Downtown East home won’t be left out in the cold. That has happened with other redevelopments in many other cities, such as the Expo ‘86 site in Vancouver.

To manage the changes and help those living and working in the area, a Community Action Plan is being formulated. That’s a vital strategy.

City planners are looking to some of the successful urban inner city revitalization projects, like Portland’s Pearl district, which was transformed from a rundown industrial area into the Oregon city’s most cosmopolitan shopping and entertainment centre. Like Edmonton’s Downtown East, the Pearl crafted its rebirth on the foundation of a superb stock of historic buildings.

Downtown East’s heritage treasures include the Jasper East Block, downtown’s largest intact grouping of pre-World War I buildings, along Jasper Avenue between 96th and 97th Streets. The plan for a funicular railway on the bank of the river valley has a historical connection, too, as one used to operate right where today’s Chateau Lacombe is situated.

It was called the Edmonton Incline Railway and began operating on McDougall Hill in May 1908. A steam engine, fuelled by coal, provided power and, when one platform went up, another went down. The venture proved immensely popular in the rapidly growing city but was eventually forced out of business just six short years later by its new competitor – the High Level Bridge.

That was then, and this is now, and now there’s a new spirit of optimism and a can-do attitude. The city’s contribution to the project is expected to be $6 to $12 million, and the total investment from public and private sectors could reach $60 million in the next ten years.

The reward will come with increased property and business tax revenue and safe, walkable communities alive with shops and services along with an invigorating mix of housing, incomes and cultures. Planners say construction could begin by early 2008.