Calgary’s Olympic Plaza set for full makeover as part of downtown revitalization
Posted Jun 7, 2023 10:33 am.
In a step towards revitalizing the city’s downtown area, Calgary is moving forward with a full redesign of Olympic Plaza, the partners announced Tuesday.
The project, a partnership between the Calgary Municipal Land Corporation (CMLC), the City of Calgary, and Arts Commons, will “renew an important but aging downtown cultural space” while increasing the potential of the Arts Commons Transformation and encouraging “continued revitalization” of the downtown core, the city said in a release.
“The Olympic Plaza transformation project clearly illustrates the renaissance that Calgary’s downtown is poised to experience. This is what happens when a municipality, together with its partner organizations and the business community, believes and invests in itself,” Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek said in a release. “The City’s $425 million investment in the downtown strategy is paying off both in terms of reciprocal private investment and global attention.”
But the area has been the site of several social issues for some time.
Just weeks ago, a man was stabbed to death following a fight in Olympic Plaza.
The mayor was asked if she truly believes the area can be revitalized.
“We continue to take a compassion-based approach to helping people who are in a situation of crisis, at the same time we continue to do things in our city to make it a great experience for everyone,” she responded. “So, this project is an example two things at once, care for our people and also bring the space back to life.”
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Upgrades to Olympic Plaza and Stephen Avenue are included in the $108 million in downtown revitalization money established in the 2023-26 budget.
The Olympic Plaza project has been allotted $40 million for project imitation, design team procurement, and design development. The city says additional funding will be awarded prior to starting the project.
Arts Commons is currently undergoing a separate, $480 million transformation.
CMLC will act as the development manager, stewarding design and construction on behalf of the partners. It will also manage the redevelopment of Stephen Avenue.
A competitive request for proposals for a “qualified and visionary” design team will be issued in the coming weeks, the city said.
Design is expected to take place through 2023 and 2024.
In developing a programmatic design for the Olympic Plaza transformation, CMLC and the selected design team will explore the plaza’s historic elements and significance as a gathering place during the 1988 Winter Olympics along with learnings from city’s 2016 Olympic Plaza Cultural District engagement and CMLC’s 2021 Arts Commons Transformation public and stakeholder engagement.
The city says there will be additional opportunities for public input as the project progresses.
To allow for construction all events, programming, and projects in Olympic Plaza will be paused at the end of 2024. The city says it will work with event coordinators to identify alternate locations.
Once the projects are complete, the Arts Commons campus will be one of the largest connecting arts-focused space in Canada, according to Arts Commons president and CEO Alex Sarian.
“The potential for elevating Calgary’s reputation as an internationally important arts and cultural centre is tremendous,” he said.
