A report on downtown revitalization presented to North Battleford’s planning committee Monday is urging the city to keep moving ahead towards completing the revitalization program.
“It is paying off, we are seeing a lot of benefits, we have really good momentum right now, and I don’t think we can afford to lose it,” said City Planner Ryan Mackrell who presented the report at the meeting.
One recommendation from the plan will not be going ahead, however. The master plan had called for the renaming of downtown streets based on the city’s early history: “Main Street”, “King Street,” “Queen Street” and so on.
“We felt renaming the streets would cause a little bit of confusion amongst mail and delivery, every business having to get business cards, that type of thing,” said Mackrell.
Instead, developers and the downtown BID are being encouraged to use those names themselves on the businesses there. For example, one of the strong considerations was to name the new cinema on 101st Street “King Street Theatre.”
Mackrell said he was surprised that hadn’t gone through.
Other information in the downtown revitalization report, from the city’s planning and development department, cited the improvements done in 2017 on the 1100 to 1300 blocks of 101st Street, 12th Avenue from 100th to 102nd, improvements in 2018 on 101st Street through the 1200 and 1300 block, and this year on the 1100 block of 100th Street and 12th Avenue from 99th to 100th Streets.
The work included significant infrastructure improvements including replacements of pipes, service connections and water mains, with some pipes replaced being upwards of 100 years old.
On 101st Street, 24 service connections were replaced, 13 of which had lead. On 100th Street, 14 service connections were replaced, five of which had lead.
But according to the report, more work is needed.
“Finishing the downtown revitalization program is important for the future of the downtown and North Battleford as a whole,” the report stated. “The progress gained from the projects has not gone unnoticed, but it is important to see the completion of the project to the end. The infrastructure and changes to the streetscape have drastically improved the downtown. Through new projects such as the Capitol Annex Theatre and Giant Tiger, the improvements have made a significant difference in the downtown core.”
In his remarks at the meeting Mackrell also noted the importance of revitalization efforts on tax revenues, citing numbers showing the “tax amount per metre” is much higher for downtown properties than properties in the rest of the city.
For the immediate future, upcoming projects are improvements to the 1200 and 1300 blocks of 100th and the 1100 and 1200 blocks of 102nd Street.
Mackrell said the 102nd Street blocks have “bad major failing infrastructure” with sidewalks and asphalt in rough shape, service connections that are really old and some that have lead, and water mains that go back to when North Battleford was still a town. On 100th Street there are similar failings to sidewalks and infrastructure in the area. Water mains go back to the 1940s.
“The streets are in a state of disrepair and require replacement to ensure the long-term success of the downtown, and the city as a whole,” the report states.
“Although the projects will entail a substantial financial commitment in the short-term, leaving the remainder of the downtown in its current state will lead to further problems in the future. The infrastructure below ground has outlived its lifespan, which will begin to fail if not improved. The program has shown to be successful so far, and finishing the project is important for the future of North Battleford.”
The work on two blocks of 100th Street is to be the last work done on that street. Niesink indicated the proposal would be to do the 100th Street work next year.
More details about the timeline for the 100th Street and 102nd Street projects are expected during the budget process at City Hall later this year.
The revitalization efforts have stemmed from the Downtown Master Plan prepared by Crosby Hanna and Associates and adopted by the city in 2017.
Mackrell noted most of the recommendations in that plan have now been done, although, a heritage policy has not been developed yet, in part because the province had pulled their incentives for many of those designations. As well, a solid incentive plan was already in place for downtown so there wasn’t too much the city could add.
One recommendation that did go through was the revitalization of Central Park. In addition to repairs done at the park itself, lights were added to trees and lit up at night, something that Director of Planning and Development Jennifer Niesink said had “changed the space.”
“This was probably one of the least expensive things we’ve done downtown with one of the largest impacts,” said Niesink.
In particular, the lighting in the park was designed to improve safety in the area. Mayor Bater said the park is now wide open and well lit with no dark corners for people to hide. Niesink said they will continue to look at projects like this in the future.
Also cited as a positive was the downtown incentive program. Mackrell noted that since the incentive program began in 2017, 15 new businesses have opened downtown, which he called a “statement in itself.” As well, there have been 15 new renovations and builds there.
Mackrell added that not everyone has taken the city up on its incentive program. The city approved all six of the incentive applications they have received; the rest are going about their renovations on their own.
“It has that impact we looked for,” Mackrell said.
