Article content

If the latest kerfuffle over businesses facing rising property tax bills has taught us anything, it’s that Calgary’s downtown has suffered a serious blow in the past 24 months.

And it’s going to take longer — much longer — than two years to fully repair the damage done by the recession.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Varcoe: Time to tackle core of downtown Calgary's office vacancy problem Back to video

But, looking at other North American cities that have endured similar problems, the good news is that recovery is possible. However, the future will not look like the past, and a lot of hard work lies ahead.

“Probably half of the entire city revenues come from the Centre City. So if the Centre City struggles, the whole city struggles,” says Druh Farrell, who represents part of the downtown as councillor for Ward 7.

“I’m a native Calgarian and have seen the boom-bust cycles. Historically, we’ve approached it by just waiting it out. That’s not going to work this time.”

City council is expected to debate a motion Monday from Farrell and Coun. Evan Woolley to hold an economic summit and examine issues affecting the downtown.