Yellowknife eyes downtown parking lot for possible outdoor plaza
Council to vote Monday on buying empty lot next to mall
Yellowknife city council will vote next week on whether to buy an unused parking lot downtown.
The city proposes the space be turned into an outdoor plaza, a proposal council will vote on at a later date.
City administration is asking council to approve the purchase of the empty lot at the corner of 50th Avenue and 50th Street adjacent to the Centre Square Mall for $1.4 million.
The city already owns three empty lots on 50th Street as part of its downtown revitalization plan. Administration is proposing selling those properties together for $1.3 million and purchasing the parking lot.
Council will vote this coming Monday on the land sale and purchase.
Jeff Humble, the city's director of planning and development, says buying the lot will allow the city to work with the owners of Centre Square Mall on making improvements to the mall and provide a public gathering space downtown for outdoor events.
Humble says sprucing up the downtown corner lot will make the 50th Street lots more attractive to buyers. The city also expects the revitalization project to be eligible for funding from the territorial and federal governments.
"It is the heart of our downtown, so we are looking for significant investment," he said.
But Councillor Rebecca Alty says she isn't sold on the need for another outdoor plaza with Somba K'e Park a block away.
"I just don't think that purchasing this land will be the linchpin that turns everything in downtown around." she said.
Alty wants to see the city make improvements to what it currently owns, such as sidewalks, instead of spending more on new developments.