Preferred concept for Exhibition Lands redevelopment to be discussed next week

The future of the Edmonton Exhibition Lands will be front and centre at city hall next Tuesday.

Edmonton city council is ready to review city staff'spreferred concept that has come from consultations with the public, stakeholders and developers.

Almost a year ago the city received 62 submissions with ideas for ways to redevelop the land just north of the downtown core.The list was narrowed down to four concepts.The city saysthe main distinction between the concepts was the level of public investment and the amount of land that would be sold to private investors.

• City unveils four concepts for future redevelopment of Exhibition Lands

A citysurvey showed the top prioritieswere finding a new anchor for the area, having a low level of public investment and including affordable housing.

Survey respondents were also given the opportunity to write in priorities they felt were missing. The top three public responses were density, transit-oriented development and re-purposing the Northlands Coliseum.

Finding a new home for K-Days was also a concern respondents mentioned multiple times.

During the public engagement sessions, the city says participants wantedto see something on the site that would move away from the status quo, benefit existing residents and bring more people to the area.

The report says the preferred concept builds on the ideas from the surveys and the four concepts, especially C1, which was the preferred design among respondents.

Other infrastructure investments that are proposed include a new LRT station south of the EXPO Centre and a relocation of the Coliseum LRT station. The preferred concept also includes upgrades to Wayne Gretzky Drive, Borden Park and improved connections to the river valley.

The city expects to complete the work in stages.The projected timeline for the redevelopment of the area is 20 to 30 years.