The downtown core will soon be home to more residents in the coming months as the Downtown Business Revitalization Zone (BRZ) is expecting 43 condos built in the area. This will help in the overall project of making sure more visitors come downtown. Living downtown will change the cultural environment and help businesses.
“It’s a really important movement to turn this into a true neighbourhood. You can have all of the retail stores and service locations, restaurants and coffee shops, but having kind of completing that revitalization puzzle is having more people living in the downtown core in the heart of our city,” said Ted Stilson BRZ executive director.

The plan for the condos as well as helping move people downtown has been in the works for some time, but things are finally in motion moving on buildings being completed.
It will also hopefully welcome a younger demographic once the buildings are complete.
“It creates an opportunity for young people in our community who want to get into the housing market, but don’t necessarily want to live in kind of a suburban setting, but want to live where things are happening in the downtown core,” added Stilson who hopes this movement will be essential in helping revive the downtown economy.
The city is hoping this will have a big effect on the other projects to the master plan for downtown. It will lead to making sure it is easier for customers and visitors to navigate through the core.
“We are in a continuous improvement mode in terms of some of the infrastructure so one of the bigger projects on what we’re working on right now is the reconstruction of third avenue south,” said George Kuhl Planning Initiatives Manager for the city.
There may also be more space for people to use the downtown more freely and spend time in the core.
“What we’re trying to create is a more pedestrian-orientated type of downtown. What we’re trying to do is make it a more walkable type of area,” said Kuhl
Businesses will have a chance to build out into the downtown core and create a more outside experience for their patrons.
“What will happen in that situation is that we will narrow or reduce some of the traffic lanes, add to the sidewalks so it becomes a lot nicer for people to walk and perhaps cycle. It creates an opportunity for businesses to perhaps have patios and that kind of thing if there’s a little bit wider sidewalks,” expressed Kuhl.
Some of the condos are already close to completion and residents could move in this spring.