The Pulse: March 1, 2024

Daniel Costa, the chef-owner of Uccellino and Bar Bricco, is working on not one, not two, but three new restaurants for the Citizen on Jasper apartment building.

Costa has been a major player in Edmonton's food scene since opening Corso 32 in 2010. His newest plans coincide with the opening of Bar Henry, Costa's first new spot since Uccellino opened in 2015, and the closure of Corso 32, his cosmopolitan, original concept.

"We definitely didn't close Corso because of a financial issue," Costa, chef-owner of Corso 32 Group, told Taproot. "We consciously closed it because we thought it was the right move. Because Corso was closed for two years (due to the pandemic), we were kind of like, 'You know, I think let's move along.' Corso closed on a high note."

A renovation and expansion of the adjoining Bar Bricco followed the closure. With help from The Artworks co-founder Peter Turner, Costa knocked down a wall, refreshed the interior aesthetic, and made the former Corso space cohesive with Bricco's. "We still kept the soul of what Bar Bricco is, which is a very dark, intimate, lively, place," Costa said.

Costa's new venture, Bar Henry — a Northern Italian aperitivo bar at 160, 10220 103 Avenue NW — opened in February for nighttime service (4:30pm to 11pm, Wednesday through Saturday). Daytime hours are coming in March. The idea began to take shape when Henry Singer, an Edmonton-founded luxury menswear retailer, reached out to Costa about developing something adjacent to its downtown storefront.

"The original concept was more of a café style," Costa said. "If you've been to Europe, you go into a bar in Spain or Italy and they're just called 'bars.' You go in and you can get a coffee, but at night you can also get a spritz or a cocktail, wine, some snacks. So it's kind of our interpretation of that." But Bar Henry is only part of Costa's plan. He said names and timelines for his three upcoming restaurants, set to reside in ground level of the Citizen building, aren't ready to share just yet. The complex at 10110 120 Street NW is run by ONE Properties and is 33 storeys tall. Still, Costa explained the three establishments will be a bar, a sit-down restaurant, and a lounge.

"The idea was to bring a hotel lobby experience into the base of a residential building," he said. "There's going to be a restaurant, there's going to be a central lobby feel. People can come together at all hours and have meetings. But then also at night, they can have cocktails and little snacks, along with great music. And this one will also be very dark."

• The UCP government released its proposed 2024 provincial budget, which promises to increase spending on health care and education and forecasts a $367-million surplus for the 2024-25 fiscal year, which is the smallest surplus since 2022. The province plans to spend $73.2 billion in 2024-25, $3 billion more than what was projected last February, and is expecting $73.5 billion in revenue, $2.1 billion less than what was forecast in last year's third quarter. Officials say the province is in a negative cash position, and it will need to borrow $2.4 billion to balance the budget. Of the projected $5.2- billion surplus from the 2023-24 fiscal year, $3.2 billion will go to repaying debt and $2 billion will go to the Heritage Savings Trust Fund. The budget does not include income tax breaks promised by the UCP, but the party says those are coming in 2026 and 2027.
• The 2024 provincial budget commitments to Edmonton include money for police, infrastructure, post-secondary education, and health. The budget would fund 100 new street-level police in Edmonton and Calgary, fighting gun and gang violence, upgrading correctional facilities, and adding "hundreds" of shelter spaces in Edmonton. Major infrastructure investments include upgrades to Yellowhead Trail, Terwillegar Drive, Ray Gibbon Drive, and LRT projects, along with funding for MacEwan University, NAIT, the University of Alberta Hospital, and several health clinics. The budget also puts $20 million over three years toward a new standalone Stollery Children's Hospital, but the province has paused plans for a South Edmonton Hospital. In a release, Alberta Municipalities said it is "extremely discouraged" by the proposed budget, noting money allocated to municipalities through the Local Government Fiscal Framework is "far short of what is needed" to address infrastructure needs.
• CBC published an explainer on how the proposed 2024 provincial budget might impact an average Albertan's finances. Aside from lacking a promised income tax cut, the budget would introduce a levy for land titles registration that may affect home buyers, an annual $200 tax on electric vehicles, and higher taxes on cigarettes and vaping products. As part of the "Alberta is Calling" campaign, the province also plans to offer tax credits to people from other provinces who relocate to work in eligible occupations.
• The Katz Group is requesting a rezoning that would allow it to keep using two vacant plots of land north of Rogers Place as gravel parking lots for up to five more years. It's the group's second request for an extension, though using the vacant lots for parking was intended to be temporary. A previous council's decision in 2016 to allow the Katz Group to use the lots attracted controversy, but administration now supports the plots being used for parking until Katz Group can redevelop them as part of Village at ICE District. Council will vote on Match 11 whether to grant the extension.
• The City of Edmonton's 2023 financial results show a tax-supported operating deficit of $48.2 million, which is 1.8% of the $3-billion operating budget. The deficit is driven by higher than expected arbitrated salary settlements, lower franchise fees, and other "unique pressures" such as low transit fares, said chief financial officer Stacey Padbury. Council will review the 2023 capital and operating finances and receive an update on the spring operating budget adjustment process on March 12 and 13.
• Council's urban planning committee learned that the City of Edmonton won't be allowed to impose stricter rules around energy performance in building codes than what is permitted by the province. Introducing regulations requiring more energy-efficient buildings is proposed in the city's community energy transition strategy, approved in 2021. Staff will return in June with ideas for incentives or subsidies to encourage greener construction.
• The Edmonton Social Planning Council released its annual Alberta Child Poverty Report for 2023, which is intended to inform policy, advocacy, and decision-making. Data from 2021 shows nearly one in six children in the province were living in poverty. Alberta does not have a poverty reduction strategy, the report notes.
• The provincial government's contracts with nearly 248,000 Alberta public sector workers are set to expire in 2024, and observers say there is a potential for widespread service disruption and labour disputes this year. The province's opening offer to all unions so far is a four-year contract with 2% raises in 2024 and 2025 and 1.75% raises in 2026 and 2027. Some unions, however, including United Nurses of Alberta and the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees, have made proposals that include higher wage increases. Alberta Federation of Labour president Gil McGowan suggested the province is "sleepwalking into a massive strike."
• The 2024-25 provincial budget proposes giving health services an operating budget of $26.2 billion, $1.1 billion more than the current fiscal year and 4.4% higher than what was projected. The budget also reveals that the projected cost of the UCP's plan to restructure Alberta Health Services, referred to as "Health Care Entities (formerly Alberta Health Services)," is $85 million over two years.

• March 1: Opening Reception: Farewell to the North (Do Not Apply Compression Gently) starting at 7pm at Harcourt House Arts Centre
• March 1: Play the Game! starting at 8pm at Rapid Fire Exchange
• March 2: Alberta Farm Fresh Producers Association: Mini Conference, Grower Networking & AGM Registration starting at 9:30am at the Leduc County Business and Entrepreneur Centre
• March 2: Fruit Loop starting at 8pm at Craft Beer Market
• March 2-3: Nosh Food Fest at the Strathcona County Community Centre
• March 3: 2024 Oscar Nominated Shorts: Documentary starting at 12pm at Metro Cinema
• March 3: Bring Out Your Dead starting at 3pm at the Three Vikings

And here are some upcoming events to keep in mind:

• March 14: Advanced Technology PI Day at Edmonton Research Park
• March 20: Energy Talks at Edmonton Public Library — Strathcona
• March 23: Refinery: Palm Room — a 1920s Speakeasy at the Art Gallery of Alberta

Visit the beta version of the Taproot Edmonton Calendar for many more events in the Edmonton region.