On this day in 1962, a New York company was pitching a massive development plan with promises of revitalizing Edmonton's downtown core.
The idea of building a civic centre downtown wasn't a new one. The idea of a municipal district containing government buildings, office space, and arts facilities had been bandied about since 1913. The City owned a parcel of about 20 acres in the centre of the city, just south of the Canadian National Railway tracks. Over the next half-century, at least half a dozen plans of varying cost and ambition were proposed for the land, but none materialized.
When Webb & Knapp (Canada), a subsidiary of the New York development firm, pitched their Civic Centre Development Plan in 1962, it was perfect timing. Alberta's oil industry was growing rapidly, bringing waves of new residents to Edmonton. The decade was also marked by a North American obsession with "urban renewal" and the transformation of "blighted" areas — an idea wholeheartedly embraced by many Edmonton leaders.
The company offered to spend $100,000 developing the plan for the city. In return, if it was approved, the city would make a large area of land available for potential private development to Webb & Knapp and other companies.
When the plan was unveiled, it covered 86 acres in central Edmonton, including the 20-acre civic centre. Estimated to cost more than $100 million in public and private investment over the next 15 years, the blueprint included a new city hall, parks, recreation buildings, a hotel, and three 25-storey office towers. Webb & Knapp hoped it would prove to be a blueprint for similar projects in cities all over North America.
The plan generated a lot of debate, including concerns over land expropriation and the need to move institutions like the City Market. City council would reject the plan later in the year.
But that would not be the end of the story. The original agreement stated that if Edmonton rejected the plan, the materials would become the property of the city. However, the company alleged that city planners copied and inserted big chunks of the idea into their proposal, which was later approved by city council before it had the rights. The company sued for $2 million in damages in a case that dragged on for several years. It eventually ended up before the Supreme Court, which determined that Edmonton had breached copyright and ordered $50,000 in damages.
The 1962 Civic Centre Plan is just one of a seemingly continuous stream of downtown revitalization plans that stretch over the city's history. City council's urban planning committee will be talking about it on March 22, as it considers a report on what can be funded with the downtown community revitalization levy.
This is based on a clipping found on Vintage Edmonton, a daily look at Edmonton's history from armchair archivist @revRecluse — follow @VintageEdmonton for daily ephemera via Twitter.