East Village: Success or a long ways away yet?

[Social Justice]

Calgary Eyeopener talking about businesses in the East Village that are concerned about business. They spoke with the owner of Mari Bakeshop and Sidewalk Citizen, talk about how they have regulars but they need more than that to keep things going and grow the business. Avi with Sidewalk Citizen mentions how most of their traffic seems to come from the Riverwalk side, and less from the village side to the south. Mari Bakeshop owners acknowledge they are in at the beginning, and have put everything into the business so they will continue to tough it out and hope that as more buildings take residency things will get better.

Once residents take up occupancy at the 'Verve', 'Ink' and and 'The Hat' the increase in population should help out the businesses a bit.

 

[CBBarnett]

Mari has the best fresh bread in the city that I have stumbled upon. Their baguettes are unreal. Support them!

 

[UrbanWarrior]

Mari has the best fresh bread in the city that I have stumbled upon. Their baguettes are unreal. Support them!

Thanks for the advice! I've got a date coming up soon n I wanna cook up a nice dinner

Once residents take up occupancy at the 'Verve', 'Ink' and and 'The Hat' the increase in population should help out the businesses a bit.

Those three towers combined should bring in excess of 1000 people to the village, so I would imagine it will help them out quite a bit!

 

[zagox]

Calgary Eyeopener talking about businesses in the East Village that are concerned about business. They spoke with the owner of Mari Bakeshop and Sidewalk Citizen, talk about how they have regulars but they need more than that to keep things going and grow the business. Avi with Sidewalk Citizen mentions how most of their traffic seems to come from the Riverwalk side, and less from the village side to the south. Mari Bakeshop owners acknowledge they are in at the beginning, and have put everything into the business so they will continue to tough it out and hope that as more buildings take residency things will get better.

It doesn’t shock me that most people at Sidewalk Citizen are coming from the pathway rather than EV. Sidewalk Citizen is the only good quality eatery directly facing either side of the Bow pathway all the way from Fish Creek to Bowness. The only other stops are the exceedingly average sausage and ice cream stands opposite the Jaipur bridge, and the also underwhelming Angel's opposite Edworthy Park.

What's the bottleneck to getting at the very least a series of food truck vendors along the pathway?

 

[kora]

However I am not sure it will ever overcome the social issues that afflict the area. I don’t know if there are more displaced and struggling people here now than there were five years ago, but those I see on the street now appear to be much more disturbed and aggressive. I had some really distressing encounters this past summer and the one before and I am not sure how that situation improves in the context of the fentanyl crisis. My neighbours curse the names of all the shelters and particularly Alpha House but they aren’t going anywhere and everyone knows it.

As someone who lives in the Beltline a block from the safe injection site, this is a problem afflicting the entire greater downtown area. I can tell you things have gotten a little worse (more addicts) and a little better (more middle income people living in the core) than ever before. I don't know what the end game is, but I think the overall trend has been for improvement. East Village has a bright future if for no other reason than its stellar location on the Bow River and its high property prices. The Beltline looks affordable by comparison.

 

[CBBarnett]

It doesn’t shock me that most people at Sidewalk Citizen are coming from the pathway rather than EV. Sidewalk Citizen is the only good quality eatery directly facing either side of the Bow pathway all the way from Fish Creek to Bowness. The only other stops are the exceedingly average sausage and ice cream stands opposite the Jaipur bridge, and the also underwhelming Angel's opposite Edworthy Park.

What's the bottleneck to getting at the very least a series of food truck vendors along the pathway?

There is a bit of a cultural barrier to retail along the river and in river parks. The Parks department - and by extension Councillors/Calgarians in general - had for a long time viewed Park and private retail such as a restaurant as antithetical to each other: the whole "purpose" of a park was to remove yourself from the hustle of commerce and city life. Further to that, private development + park space asks stressful questions of Parks' role; Is it our purpose to provide space for the private sector to profit? What kind of private uses will we allow? Who are we to choose?

The lack of retail/restaurant space in parks is hardly a Calgarian phenomenon, as many cities in North America over the past century held this view that parks are for green, streets are for retail. Fortunately, the cultural tides are turning. Retail is seen as an amenity now as well as a tool to activate spaces for more hours a day (e.g. River Cafe to keep "eyes on the park"). Persistently tight public sector budgets are forcing some innovative thinking of how to do more with less.

Challenges still remain: it's hard to slot retail in after the fact in a green space because you'll be met with "paving-over-paradise" pitchforks, you never planned for utility lines, who handles risk and liability in park space with food service etc. Not to mention the economics of the venture in the first place need to be strong. If Sidewalk Citizen is complaining about a lack of traffic, I can't think of a park/riverfront area that would do better in Calgary.

Partly I think, no one has tried to push through the doubt, restrictions and worry to show Calgarians, the Parks department and councillors that food service can work in a spectacular way along the river (Simmon's building being the obvious exception). The river pathway can be so much more vibrant and active with smart, properly thought-out spots. So I encourage you to petition for a pop-up summertime beer garden near the south end of the Peace Bridge next summer to start the revolution

 

[Surrealplaces]

Thanks for the advice! I've got a date coming up soon n I wanna cook up a nice dinner
Those three towers combined should bring in excess of 1000 people to the village, so I would imagine it will help them out quite a bit!

The new Library may help also. There aren't too many good options right in and around the library, but it should draw a fair amount of people.

 

[Munanyo]

Instead of creating a new thread I figured it would make more sense to revive this old one.

I was in town last weekend visiting from Edmonton and decided to spend time in the East Village and see how far things have progressed since the last time I got to really explore the area (which must have been at least 2 or 3 years ago now). And I'm curious to hear from members here about their overall thoughts on where things currently stand for EV and where they see things headed.

On the one hand, it really is quite impressive how far EV has come. The developments are aesthetically attractive. There seems to be a decent amount of residents now and things are slowly tying together. It's also nice to see EV606 chugging along (which I think will have a great impact to the area once completed) and having the ALT Hotel in the area is a huge win. Superstore setting up shop is a huge win as well.

However, the homeless problem seems to have gotten worse. And it seems as though things have kind of....stalled out? Which is somewhat surprising considering how gangbusters Calgary has grown lately and the cost of real estate and rent having soared in the last few years. There are noticeable empty lots still scattered around as well which contributes to the somewhat disjointed feel.

So I'm wondering - what are everyone's current thoughts on EV? Any general updates on developments coming down the pipeline on some of those empty lots? Is the original vision still there and on track or has EV lost it's momentum and is in a weird limbo these days?

 

[Surrealplaces]

You summed it up quite well. Parts of EV are quite nice, and EV as a hole was on a trajectory for a nice build out, but has indeed stalled The homeless issue has been the man reason for the stalling out. It's not the only reason, but it's the main reason. From the time EV started until now, the homeless issue in the area has increased significantly. It existed before, and I think some people expected when EV started developing the problem would go way, but instead it increased. The current development under construction (EV606) was an easier sell being right on the river, but the rest of the area is a tough sell. There are other developments slated for the area, but hard to say if they'll ever get going.

Unfortunately for EV there are just too many other options for urban living around the core where homelessness is much less of an issue. Until we can get the problem rectified EV will be a struggle.

 

[MichaelS]

I have also heard that CMLC isn't necessarily the easiest organziation to do business with (very slow/bureaucratic, not necessarily focusing on enabling private developments these days).

 

[Chinook Arch]

I have also heard that CMLC isn't necessarily the easiest organziation to do business with (very slow/bureaucratic, not necessarily focusing on enabling private developments these days).

I’ve heard the same thing about CMLC from various people. At the end of the day though, the homeless issue is the reason it’s stalled out.

 

[Mountain Man]

I think it will stay stalled until we figure out the homeless / mental health / meth & fentanyl crisis. The area has some nice buildings, but is sketchbag central, especially at night!

 

[Munanyo]

You summed it up quite well. Parts of EV are quite nice, and EV as a hole was on a trajectory for a nice build out, but has indeed stalled The homeless issue has been the man reason for the stalling out. It's not the only reason, but it's the main reason. From the time EV started until now, the homeless issue in the area has increased significantly. It existed before, and I think some people expected when EV started developing the problem would go way, but instead it increased. The current development under construction (EV606) was an easier sell being right on the river, but the rest of the area is a tough sell. There are other developments slated for the area, but hard to say if they'll ever get going.

Unfortunately for EV there are just too many other options for urban living around the core where homelessness is much less of an issue. Until we can get the problem rectified EV will be a struggle.

Thanks for the analysis. I will say that I was a bit taken aback at how much worse the homeless situation has gotten in the area. Which is somewhat weird given that when gentrification occurs, usually the homeless shift elsewhere but perhaps it's just a sign of how dire the homeless crisis is across every major Canadian city. I'm sure this has lessened demand from potential residents too.

It just sucks considering that EV doesn't necessarily feel far off from being an overall fantastic neighbourhood. Even a handful of bigger projects in the area would likely transform EV, but apart from EV606, there doesn't appear to be anything else really going on in EV (for now at least).

I hope things start taking off again soon in EV. Who knows, Calgary is not slowing down anytime soon and if things continue, I'm sure developers will start revisiting plans for additional towers or mid-rises there and maybe even kickstart momentum again.

 

[Mountain Man]

The homeless / drug problem is something that is exploding nationwide. Nobody has a solution for it, politicians argue about it, but nobody has any real solutions. At some point involuntary treatment will be proposed, but that's a slippery slope from a civil liberties standpoint. EV now has the bones to be a great area, just need to somehow address this one major issue first.

 

[CalgaryTiger]

I'll say, renewing the Drop-In Centre lease meant that this area was going to be a hub for social issues for the foreseeable future. I think we all said that at the time of the lease renewal.

I don't blame the DIC itself, it is probably the people who don't get in or get kicked out and then stay in the area that are the issue.

Investing a lot of money into EV made it nice and new but didn't remove an issue that made it a poor investment for developers. I won't be surprised if Victoria Park builds out before EV has developed all of its parking lots.