EDMONTON—Rossdale is a neighbourhood that has lots: easy access to the River Valley, a rich Indigenous history, a baseball stadium and a designated provincial historic resource, the Rossdale Power Plant.

Despite these unique characteristics, the neighbourhood south of downtown Edmonton has become an afterthought when it comes to development, treated as a drive-through neighbourhood to get to downtown from the south side, or vice versa.

A new project from the city is looking to change that.

The River Crossing project is the city’s bold plan to turn Rossdale into “a special destination in the River Valley at the gateway to downtown.” It looks at using the Rossdale Power Plant as a hub to host commercial and cultural events, creating an interpretive park codesigned with Indigenous Nations, building a better road network, improving access to the River Valley and the North Saskatchewan River and encouraging more residential development.

The plan also calls for redesigning Rossdale Road into a two-way arterial road and developing better pedestrian access and bike infrastructure, including either converting 104 St. between 97 Ave. and 98 Ave. into a local street or removing car traffic all together.

Although the project is very much up in the air and the only funding it has in the 2019-22 budget is for the design work, one city councillor is optimistic organizers are headed in the right direction.

“It’s the next amazing project in Edmonton,” said Councillor Michael Walters who says he has a “fire in my belly for the area.”

“It won’t actually cost a lot because if we have the right master planners, the right investors, we can … develop Rossdale into kind of place that so many people want it to be.”

Walters said there had been complications — the area sits atop Indigenous burial grounds, the RE/MAX Field has had a history of limited success and the Rossdale Power Plant has sat abandoned since 2009 — but he’s still optimistic that the plan will move forward.

“I think if we show some courage and focus on it, we can create something remarkable down there,” he said. “I think now is the time to do it.”

The River Crossing report also notes that not everyone agrees on the vision.

“Some people want more open space; others less open space and more development. Most people want RE/MAX Field to be retained, but some call for it to be demolished. ... Some people advocated for a new attraction in the northern portion of the area to catalyze development, but most others see the riverfront as the primary amenity in the area,” the report says.

RELATED STORIES Edmonton City to look at other prospects for Edmonton ballpark after 2019 baseball season

However, the plan does stress the need to keep development away from Indigenous burial grounds and provide road access to the Rossdale Power Plant and convert it into an “exciting amenity.”

The plan will also consider the future of RE/MAX Field. Currently, the city is looking for other operators to take over the 10-year lease. However, the report states that if the ballpark “does not prove viable and successful,” they will consider redeveloping the site.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

The plan lays out a number of costs for the project that the city hopes could be from either property tax revenue, private funding and other levels of government. The cost of renovating the power plant alone comes to $100 million. Infrastructure and open space costs are estimated to be $74 million, and that’s not considering operating costs.

The report will be presented to the urban planning committee on Tuesday.

Read more about: