Calgary's Civic District near City Hall reimagined in new strategy

There's plenty of publicly-owned land within a few blocks ofCity Hall in downtown Calgary, but what's the vision for the future?

City council's planning committee will discuss exactly thaton Wednesday when they look at a new strategy for what's being called the Civic District.The 87-page document called "Building OurHeart"spells out what the city would like to see in the area, althoughthere's littledetail on a timeframe orcosts.

What's more important, says areacouncillor Druh Farrell, is that there is a visiona target which brings together all the area's players.

Obviously the city owns the crumbling Old City Hall building,the municipal building and Olympic Plaza. But Calgarians also havethe Calgary Municipal Land Corporation, Arts Commonsand the newCalgary Public Library in this 'hood. As well, the private sectorowns several important pieces of land in this area that willberedeveloped in the years ahead.

The Civic District strategy has 10 parts to it. Here are three of the more interesting points.

1.Extending Stephen Avenue through City Hall

Many people love the lunch-hour vibe of Stephen Avenue, but that stroll ends at the big blue municipal building and east of that is a different kind of Eighth Avenue.

This strategy envisions a way through the building where council holds its meetings,and then through the new central library thatwill soon start rising across Third Street southeast. The idea is to link up with Eighth Avenue southeast so you can walk all the way to Fort Calgary.

Some tricky geography here though. Walking through the municipal building means climbing stairs or a ramp to get to the atrium, which could one day be lined with shops.

But then as you exit to the east, it's down a flight of stairs to the street level. Council has already decided no Plus-15 crossings to the library. Then a pedestrian will have to go up in the library to again descend to the street level on the library's east side.Looking forward to seeing how this gets resolved.

2.The 3rd Street "Zipper"

It's called a zipper because the idea isto use the street behind City Hall to zip together the existing Civic District with the East Village. Right now, it appears like the municipal buildinghas turned its back on the East Village.

But the East Village is changing and Third Street is seen as a crucial link.When you think about it, lots of change is coming to that street.Farrell says itwill totally change the complexion.

A new grocery store is coming to the north just across from Bow Valley College.The Cecil Hotel is another development site, as is the YWCA block.The strategy calls for retail frontage on the east side of the municipal building and possibly extending Third Street southacross the CPR tracks atthe level crossing to link with the Beltline.

3.Ceremonial boulevard

Yes, the city isrethinking the look of Macleod Trail and turning it into a grand link between the Bow and Elbow rivers.

In the report, this section is accompanied by pictures of the Champs Elysee in Paris and the Mall leading to Buckingham Palace in London. Talk aboutaiming high! The idea is a main street, which is active around the clock, is many things to many users and makes a statement.

The report find there's potential, particularly for better linking Olympic Plaza with the under-used municipal building. These two areas right now aren't exactly complementary.

The report points out that even just improving the lighting and street furniture, and tackling that grimy CPR underpass, could change the vibe on this street.There's redevelopment potential with the soon-to-be vacant library site, the former Calgary Board of Education head office and the YWCA site.

• See the full strategy being presented to thePlanning and Urban Development committee today.