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Downtown visioning event one step closer

The public provided feedback that will help structure the charrette that will fine-tune the community vision for this area

The city has awarded a contract for a downtown visioning session to establish a community-supported concept for vacant waterfront land near Roberts Reach Road.

The team of PFS Studio and Public Architecture and Communication will begin the negotiating –or charette – process as early as the end of October.

“A charrette is a collaborative design and land use planning session that combines the interests of a diverse group of people to achieve a viable land use and urban design concept that balances the relationship between public needs and land development priorities,” says Ross Blackwell, the City’s manager of land use services. “Throughout the process, members of the public will be invited to learn and share their ideas for the civic and cultural heart of the city.”

In September, the City held two pre-charrette events where members of the public provided feedback that will help structure the charrette that will fine-tune the community vision for this area that was established through the Sustainable Official Community Plan process.

Thirty-three participants at the pre-charrette sessions indicated strong support for:

  • development of the area that includes a mix of re-developed and public space

  • development that includes public amenity space in its design and use

  • design and use of the site that includes a pedestrian link to downtown and Ostler Park

Participants at the pre-charrette sessions indicated strong opposition to:

  • Leaving the site as parking space

  • Site development that includes a big box store or industrial use

  • Selling the land to a private developer

PFS Studio is a leading Canadian planning, urban design and landscape architecture firm offering consulting services across Canada, in the United States, and in Europe. In addition, PFS Studio has had a long term and sustained interest in Southeast Asia and China, undertaking numerous assignments of varying scales and winning several international design and planning competitions.