Grants add $11 million to city summer construction
Poll
Were you surprised the UCP government went back to stage one of its reopening plan on Tuesday?
Yes
The Linden Lot, across from city hall in downtown Medicine Hat, is set to become additional office space as the building on the site will be expanded thanks to a federal government grant to move construction projects forward as economic stimulus coming out of the COVID pandemic. The city owned building, which was once rented to Canada Post s downtown branch, currently houses the city s health safety and environment offices. NEWS FILE PHOTO
Redeployed federal grants will add almost $11 million in projects to the city’s summer construction budget, it was confirmed Wednesday.
Downtown plan touted, but too good to be true?
Poll
Do you agree with the city’s decision to collapse certain advisory boards into one, nine-member Community Vibrancy Board?
Yes
According to some observers a new vision for downtown looks similar to long-standing plans and could be difficult to achieve, but might be worth it in the end.
Featuring the South Saskatchewan River has been in high-level city plans for years, and more recently planners have alluded to a “Waterfront District” that was revealed Tuesday at the State of the City address.
At its centre, a new amphitheatre built on the slope below Riverside Veterans Memorial Park would lead to a pedestrian promenade along River Road. A raft of other changes and incentives could be brought in along the one-kilometre stretch of shoreline.
An overview of a “Waterfront District” headlined the annual State of the City address by Mayor Ted Clugston on Tuesday as a video showed administrators calling the city-led development a “billion-dollar opportunity.”
The potential transformation of most of River Road into a pedestrian mall, Finlay Bridge, a focus on higher density housing, and changes to Riverside Veterans Memorial Park over the next 10 to 15 years were shown in the online speech that usually involves an outlaying of civic accomplishments and priority projects.
“For many years we’ve feared the river due to flooding, but now it is time to celebrate it,” said Clugston while introducing a video of staff walking through the proposal.