Empty storefronts. Run-down buildings. The flight of retail from downtown.
These sound like exactly the issues facing North Battleford's downtown core and this is exactly the sort of situation other communities have faced and overcome in western Canada over the past several years.
One such community is Moose Jaw, which for over two decades has been working to revitalize its downtown.
Once lifeless and run-down, Moose Jaw's downtown is now vibrant and alive with business and development. Its efforts to embrace and rehabilitate its heritage buildings have been cited as a major success story.
North Battleford officials already know of Moose Jaw's success. Two years ago, a report was commissioned by the City on downtown revitalization. When the report came back to council, consultant Christopher Doll of Nuguru Business and Marketing Consultants pointed to Moose Jaw as a downtown revitalization success story, along with Brandon, Man. and Ladysmith, B.C.
Moose Jaw was cited at the time as an example of a community that took advantage of every funding opportunity out there and as one of the early pilot projects leading to the Main Street Approach that Heritage Canada now has in place to revitalize downtowns.
Sept. 6, a delegation from North Battleford travelled to Moose Jaw on a fact-finding mission to see for themselves the results of that city's efforts to revitalize downtown.
Richard Hiebert, president of the Battlefords Heritage Society, organized the trip. He was joined by Councillor Ron Crush, Counillor Ray Fox, and the News-Optimist.
They were met in Moose Jaw by Brian Bell, president of the Moose Jaw Heritage Society and also the Architectural Heritage Society of Saskatchewan, who conducted their tour of historic buildings in the downtown that had seen rehabilitation efforts happen during the past number of years.
Their first stop was the historic Walter Scott Building, which, when it was built in 1912, was the tallest office building in Saskatchewan.
It was state-of-the-art when it was built - the first fire-proof building and the first with reinforced steel.
From the outside, the building seemed a little worse for wear, with several boarded-up windows. On closer inspection, though, it was apparent a major renovation project was underway, with construction crews hard at work.
Developers Zarcor Construction and Homes of Regina bought the Walter Scott Building in 2011 and were renovating it from the inside out, with the intention of turning the building into apartment suites to meet the growing demand for affordable residential accommodation in Moose Jaw.
"The top five floors are going to be 40 suites," Bell said. "They're going to be income- capped and rent-capped."
It was estimated each of the floors would take six months each to be reconfigured to meet the current fire and building codes.
On the ground floor, Hiebert, Fox and Crush visited one of the vibrant local businesses in that building - the OliV Tasting Room, which markets bottles of premium olive oil and balsamic vinegar products.
Retail associate Marnie Dickson showed them some of the products on offer, and Hiebert, Fox and Crush taste-tested samples.
The delegation later met a film crew from Hastings, England that had been commissioned by the developers to produce a documentary on the historic building.
They had no shortage of material to work with.
"We've been interviewing people from all over town," Bell said about the production.
"The stories that have been coming out are unbelievable."
Plans are afoot for the finished documentary to eventually be screened at the Mae Wilson Theatre - another historic structure in downtown Moose Jaw that was rehabilitated.
The group proceeded down Main Street in central Moose Jaw, an area that has been turned into a "heritage district." The buildings gave downtown Moose Jaw, unlike several other cities in the province, the look and feel of a community that had been around for years.
Bell explained a five-year community plan was developed and recommended architectural guidelines are in place.
"We're talking about the facades of any new construction and any new infill," Bell said.
Those are being tightened up into requirements. Lately, a resolution has passed at city hall and a bylaw is soon to be brought in for required architectural guidelines for Moose Jaw's downtown, enforced by bylaw. That bylaw may or may not be adopted before the end of the current council term.
The delegation toured the second floor of a heritage building that is now occupied by Tilbury Design, an interior design firm. Bell showed the group around the modern workspace, which was designed to take advantage of some of the unique historical characteristics of the location, with old advertising lining the walls.
The group toured the former CP Rail station at the southern tip of the street. It was an impressive structure that had been appeared doomed for the wrecking ball before it was converted. Now it enjoys a second life as a liquor store.
Given the city's celebration of Roaring '20s architecture and the prohibition era, it seemed appropriate.
The delegation saw the inside of the entrance way to the Tunnels of Moose Jaw, a tourist attraction in downtown Moose Jaw celebrating the historic heritage of the city through the tunnels underneath the main street.
The entranceway to the tunnels was lined by photos embracing the rich and colorful history of Moose Jaw and the rumors that it was visited by Al Capone during the '20s.
The group also visited Folgizan Insurance, an example where the historic façade was preserved while the rest of the building was rebuilt.
That building was cited as a prime example of a building that looked historic on the outside but was modern on the inside - something that would be appealing to businesspeople for that reason.
The group also viewed the interior of the law offices of Chow McLeod Barristers and Solicitors with its impressive lobby area.
The group ate lunch at the Yvette Moore Gallery, an art gallery that occupies what used to be the historic land titles building. This was one of the many examples in Moose Jaw of an "adaptive reuse of a building."
Hiebert, Fox and Crush were impressed with the countless buildings and structures throughout the downtown core that had either been rehabilitated or otherwise reused.
The group concluded their tour at Moose Jaw City Hall - a building that itself was an early example of "adaptive reuse" as it had been converted in 1963 from being the city's post office.
The Journey Back
There, the group met Mayor Glenn Hagel to learn more about what policies and initiatives Moose Jaw had adopted to turn around its downtown core from its sorry state in the 1980s.
Hagel, who formerly served in the provincial cabinet under the NDP government, noted the difficulties Moose Jaw suffered during that tough decade.
While other communities were seeing shopping mall development on the outskirts of their cities, Moose Jaw was seeing little of that. Their population was going down, and retailers were fleeing the downtown core with many of the storefronts vacant.
The core hit its low point when a major anchor, the Eaton's department store, left the downtown.
"We were depressed, economically and psychologically to some degree," said Hagel. He recalled the popular phrase was "would the last person to leave downtown please turn out the lights."
The turnaround really took off after an economic assessment study was commissioned by the council of the day on how to revive downtown.
Their report came back with some surprising findings. One of them was that the old buildings, criticized by many local people, were actually an untapped asset. It turned out Moose Jaw had more of these "old buildings" than any other comparable centres in western Canada.
"You have got something nobody else has," Hagel said of the report's findings. The downtown had an ambiance that could become attractive if the city worked at it.
The message of that report, Hagel said, was to "quit calling them 'old buildings,' start calling them 'heritage buildings,' make your downtown pedestrian friendly."
The council of the day adopted it and started doing things like giving out heritage awards, embracing the historical feel of the downtown.
One of the things that sparked the turnaround was a decision to take advantage of the local artisans and members of the arts community, by painting historic murals on buildings.
That wasn't an idea that originated in Moose Jaw. "We stole that idea from Chemainus, B.C.," said Hagel.
That town had been dying and was trying to figure out how to revive itself. The murals program was initiated by local businesses and proved a major success in turning the town around. The thinking was that if the murals worked in Chemainus, it might work in Moose Jaw.
A murals committee was struck, and some money was provided to local artists.
The attractive murals, depicting the rich local heritage of Moose Jaw, proved effective in developing a sense of pride in its arts and its history. When the overhead projectors were turned onto the first mural in 1991, it was an important psychological turning point for the city.
"The attitude began to change in Moose Jaw from depressed to excited," noted Hagel. "People began to look at them and feel proud."
More than that, he said it also promoted an attitude adjustment: what was once "old" was now seen as "good."
Another turning point was the opening of the Temple Gardens Mineral Spa in 1996.
This was an example of Moose Jaw getting lucky. "Sometimes we would just stumble on the great advantages we have," noted Hagel.
The water used there was exactly the type of resource the city had not been using for years. In fact, the water had been in use before at the city's swimming pool that had been decommissioned years earlier.
One of their parks and recreation people - who was from France and who knew about spas - recognized that the water "wasn't just cheap pre-heated swimming pool water," said Hagel.
It turned out the water used in the swimming pool had tapped into the hot springs underneath the city. It was exactly the type of geo-thermal mineral water that could be used in a spa.
It was a great resource right under the noses of the city of Moose Jaw.
That sparked the idea of a spa for Moose Jaw, though it was initially met with skepticism and some ridicule by locals before it caught on.
"This was not some great 'eureka' that the whole woke up one morning and said 'you know, a spa would be great!' It didn't happen that way," said Hagel.
A group was eventually formed, and the project was financed through a federal grant and provincial investment. The city did a loan, and there was private fundraising as well, with $100 shares bought by locals who hoped something good would come of the project.
The completion of the mineral spa "became the core of a tourism industry that has grown from it." That would include the Casino Moose Jaw across the street, as well as the Tunnels of Moose Jaw tours.
Significant initial investment came from public-private partnerships, but some of the initiatives didn't require tons of money. The heritage awards recognition program is one example, Hagel noted. The murals program also did not require a huge outlay of money.
Hagel suggested it was something North Battleford could easily adopt, as it was relatively low-investment and very visible.
As their revitalization developed, the private sector in Moose Jaw bought in. Hagel told the North Battleford delegation the involvement of the private sector was key to their success.
Business began to recognize that the murals and the tourism were bringing consumers into the community and the downtown. Reaching out to business proved to be key in setting up a heritage district.
"If you didn't have the private buy-in, you wouldn't have the money for starters, and it wouldn't work," Hagel told the group.
Heritage Preservation Key
Emphasized throughout the trip were the efforts put forth to make the heritage buildings viable and functional for business by at least preserving the facades on the outside while renovating or rebuilding the insides.
Hagel also credited an active heritage community that has been proactive and successful in selling the message of promoting the history of Moose Jaw and its buildings.
Moose Jaw has come a long way since the dark days of the 1980s. In the last census its population went up for the first time in several years.
Today, new developments and projects stand alongside the historic structures. Just recently, years of community bickering over a new arena finally ended as Moose Jaw opened Mosaic Place, the sparkling downtown home for the WHL's Moose Jaw Warriors.
Until a year ago the Warriors played at the old Moose Jaw Civic Centre in the city's north end. Demolition work took place throughout last week to bring down the Civic Centre's famed curved roof, a roof that inspired its nickname "the Crushed Can."
A shopping complex is to be built on the old Civic Centre site, and Hagel noted plans are afoot for that project to include a curved roof of its own - to preserve the memory of the old and beloved facility. Even as new developments go up, the city's heritage continues to be remembered.
Hagel suggested North Battleford, with a strong arts community and a focus on heritage, already has some built in advantages that put it ahead of where Moose Jaw was when it started its revival efforts.
"I think you have some advantages there that we didn't have when we got started here," said Hagel.
Participants Inspired
The trip to Moose Jaw left the delegation from North Battleford excited about the prospects of adapting some of the same ideas for their own city.
"I've learned more than my fair share," said Fox, who added "I'd recommend a trip to Moose Jaw for those who haven't been here."
Fox noted the discussions with the mayor were frank and beneficial. While Moose Jaw did benefit in its downtown revival by the occasional "dumb luck" as Hagel described it, Fox pointed out "Moose Jaw sort of didn't just happen by accident. Moose Jaw paid attention to what was going on in and around their city and their community."
The city recognized they didn't and couldn't do it by themselves, Fox noted, and reached out to business and what they needed. He also noted the involvement of the arts community in the comeback.
"This place is a turnaround - a complete turnaround," said Fox.
Crush was also inspired by what he saw in an area he is familiar with. "It's sort of a step back for me because I grew up not too far from Moose Jaw," said Crush.
He noted the improvements to the city didn't happen overnight. "It was a collaboration of the community as a whole" to take advantage of opportunities, noted Crush.
There were lessons that could be applied to North Battleford, such as in Moose Jaw's mural project.
"I think that is a good way to regenerate the community by celebrating its past and if that mural environment is going to provide that opportunity it's worth an experiment," said Crush, who adds council has to listen to what's happening on the ground and consider policy incentives as well.
"I just love this place," said Hiebert, pointing to the many heritage buildings that had been preserved or rehabilitated in Moose Jaw. "There's no place like it."
He felt certain the lessons of Moose Jaw could be applied to North Battleford's downtown and to the historic buildings that still stand there.
The key things Hiebert learned, he said is that "mayor and city council and the private sector must be a partnership, they have to work together. The city cannot accomplish it by itself, and the private sector can't accomplish it by itself. And we need guidelines - I say we need policies, but we need to build a spirit of pride in our city and I think that's what's happened in Moose Jaw and we can do the same thing.
"It's not a question of we can't do it - we simply can if we put our minds to it."
