(01-07-2022, 11:09 PM)cherrypark Wrote: I think Dan's on the right track with an idea that expands Victoria Park downtown in a bigger way
This was my initial hope for this place. I'd like to see it developed with something tangible - that is, residential space (a mixture of say, condos/rentals/affordable housing), cultural/community venues (including an Indigenous centre, perhaps), small retail and so on - but also allow it to become a gateway to Victoria Park by having a nice piece of landscape architecture that can create a public square and expand the park space. It's the perfect spot to open up a pathway from a more densely populated downtown to Victoria Park without having to cross city blocks of housing, concrete and asphalt. Pedestrianizing Gaukel is a good start, but you could easily create an even larger pedestrian area with clear, open views of the park and sky. No need for 50 floor condos that would just become an eyesore.
I had sketched out plans months ago and actually have two young interns who work at my firm who have been contributing just for fun as my company has had our eyes on this plot of land. We've created some pretty awesome concepts, though I don't think the region (as it's RoW who owns it) will ever go for something like this. The land is just too valuable, so they will most likely sell it off to a developer to build some generic condo towers...or god forbid, a silly stadium venue.
As another comment mentioned, we've only got so many opportunities to create valuable public spaces at this point in our evolution - such as parks, squares - in the downtown core before that space it gobbled up for development. We should capitalize on it while we can and create something that can be used all sorts of demographics. A stadium really only appeals to certain people.