The Pulse: April 5, 2024

The Edmonton Urban Farm is tentatively being relocated to a spot east of Borden Park on the Exhibition Lands, as its current home is set to be redeveloped into housing.

"We've landed on a new proposed location," the city's project lead for redeveloping the Exhibition Lands, Lovey Grewal, told Taproot. "It's definitely a positive for us that farmers won't have to make big changes to the locations of their plots."

Grewal would not share the precise location of the tentative new site, but said it is on the east end of Exhibition Lands in the "direct vicinity" of Borden Park. Selecting where the farm might go has involved engagement with stakeholders like Explore Edmonton, and urban farmers. Engagement continues as the new location still requires city approval. The move is tentatively scheduled to happen between the 2024 and 2025 growing seasons.

"The feedback revolved around making sure that the area of the new farm was suitable, and similar like-for-like area, as far as acreage goes," Grewal said. "It's not a community garden. It's a true urban farm."

Grewal said the existing site, next to the East Edmonton Health Centre, will be redeveloped to include up to six-storey housing, as well as single-family homes, townhouses, and row houses. The entirety of the redevelopment will take "20-plus years" to complete, he said.

Dustin Bajer, an urban farmer and beekeeper who has a plot at the farm, told Taproot he's sad to see it move, though he always knew it was a temporary location.

"The farm has been in operation for 10 years, and it looks very different than it did in year five and year one," Bajer said. "I know that a new site will also take time to develop."

Bajer hasn't decided if he'll follow the farm to its new home.

"I'm at this point where I'm looking at other alternatives, because I feel like I can take the lessons that I've learned there and bring that to vacant lots in my neighbourhood of McCauley, as an example," he said. "I would not have been able to do that when I first started at the Edmonton Urban Farm."

• The City of Edmonton is replacing its payment system for EPark with the online and mobile pay platform HotSpot Parking. The new system, which launches April 29, will offer flexible payment options, including scanning a QR code, and a pay-as-you-go app that will be available in May. Customers with funds in an existing MyEPark account can use them until April 29. Accounts with more than $25 will have funds transferred to a new HotSpot account, and customers with less can request a refund until June 30. The City said the changes are in response to requests for improvements over the years.
• Edmonton city council voted to extend an agreement with the Katz Group that allows the group to continue operating surface parking lots just north of Rogers Place. The agreement, which expired last year, is now in place until 2029. "The choice that I feel is in front of us is a surface parking lot or a vacant lot, and a vacant lot that will not be redeveloped any faster by virtue of being empty," said Ward O-day'min Coun. Anne Stevenson. Council also voted unanimously in favour of a plan to target more than 100 illegal surface parking lots in the downtown area with increased enforcement in hopes of encouraging redevelopment.
• City of Edmonton contractors will begin demolishing the former NAIT LRT station starting around April 8. The work, expected to last about two months, will happen in phases and take place overnight from 8pm to 5am on weekdays and two weekends. PCL Construction has obtained an overnight noise permit. After demolition, the City plans to install landscaping, architectural elements, and public art in the area. The station was replaced by the NAIT/Blatchford Market LRT station, which opened for service in January.
• Zebra Child and Youth Advocacy Centre, which supports children in Edmonton who have experienced abuse, is hoping to move from downtown to its new location at 14325 112 Avenue NW by September. CEO Emmy Stuebing said the existing centre on Jasper Avenue serves more than double its annual capacity of 2,000 children, with demand rising 85% since 2019. The new 3,716-square-metre building includes two child forensic interview rooms, 22 staff and partner offices, a sacred wellness room, access to green space, and free parking. The centre has so far fundraised $3 million of its $6.18 million goal to relocate and renovate.
• Adam Laughlin, a former City of Edmonton manager, announced he has started a new job as a construction manager for PCL Construction. Laughlin served as deputy city manager for integrated infrastructure services and acted as interim city manager throughout 2020 before council hired Andre Corbould. Laughlin, who left the City on Feb. 2, is among the seven high-ranking officials to leave Edmonton's administration within the last year. The mayor officially announced this week that Eddie Robar will be interim city manager until a replacement can be found for Corbould, who left the City effective April 3.
• The Métis Capital Housing Corporation is the first organization supported by the City of Edmonton's new Indigenous-led affordable housing grant. The company will receive $2.29 million to build a seniors lodge at 11935 65 Street NW in the Montrose neighbourhood, which will include 36 affordable suites. The new facility replaces the company's Nihgi Métis Seniors Lodge, which closed in 2021.
• CBC journalist Emily Fitzpatrick visited some downtown Edmonton businesses that have used "a little money and creativity" to make the most of available properties, despite challenges. Fitzpatrick spoke to Dennis Aronyk, owner of Revolution Cycle, which recently opened in the old Edmonton Motors car dealership at 11445 Jasper Avenue, and Aga Wajda-Plytta, co-owner of Good Goods, which opened its first brick-and-mortar store at 10250 106 Street NW with help from a Downtown Retail Project grant from the Edmonton Downtown Business Association. "We have too much space, and we have to retrofit it and make sure that it's the right space for the consumer today," said Heather Thomson with the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce.
• The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation's latest housing market outlook forecasts that housing starts in Edmonton will "remain strong" in 2024, with modest growth in sales and homes prices. However, the rental market will "remain tight" with demand outpacing supply. The CMHC's latest housing supply report says housing starts in Edmonton fell 10% in 2023 but remain above average compared to other large Canadian cities when adjusted for population, while the rental market began feeling greater "supply squeeze."
• Youth Empowerment and Support Services (YESS), which supports youth in crisis in the Edmonton area, announced it is closing its supportive housing facility, Shanoa's Place, and is shifting its focus away from housing. In a statement, YESS said it trusts its partners in the Youth Agency Collaboration to carry on their "outstanding work" in housing.
• Edmonton Fire Rescue Services is accepting applications until April 30 from high school students interested in its fire cadets program. The 10-month program offers a mix of classroom and hands-on learning, and up to six high school credits.

Correction: This file has been changed to correct inaccurate information about YESS.

Here are some events happening this weekend in the Edmonton area.

• April 5: VEAL starting at 7:30pm at SOHO
• April 5: The Fretless starting at 7:30pm at the Arden Theatre
• April 5: Play the Game! starting at 8pm at Rapid Fire Exchange
• April 6: How To Buy Your First Home starting at 10am at the ATB Entrepreneur Centre
• April 6: Songwriter's Concert starting at 2pm at Allard Hall
• April 6: Indrani Mukherjee starting at 5:30pm at the Maclab Theatre at Lillian Osborne High School
• April 6-7: Edmonton Aroid Spring Edition at St. Basil's Cultural Centre
• April 7: World Health Day starting at 11am at the TELUS World of Science Edmonton
• April 7: A Taste of Indigenous Canada starting at 12pm at the Knottwood Community Centre

And here are some upcoming events to keep in mind:

• April 17: An Evening of Presentations | YEG Reconnect at Road 55 Studio
• April 19: Teen Night: Medieval Faire at the Art Gallery of Alberta
• April 20: An Intimate Evening with Sarah McLachlan at the Jubilee Auditorium

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