City partners with developer to revitalize area near Commonwealth Stadium

City officials hope a redevelopment plan and partnership with a developer will lead to the revitalization of a former industrial area.

On Monday, council approved a redevelopment plan for the area south of the Stadium LRT station. It will include construction of streets, plazas and sewage upgrades.

"Stadium station is this area with a big recreation centre with the stadium and some parking, but there's not a lot of development around it," said Erik Backstrom, senior planner with the City of Edmonton.

"It's a former industrial area. And it's an area where the industries have been going away over time. It's just an area of change."

On the east side of the LRT line between Jasper Avenue and 112th Avenue, the LRT tunnel is the only access point to get to Commonwealth Stadium and the recreation centre.

In the fall of 2014, council setmoney aside to develop the area around the Stadium station. They were waiting for a development partner who also saw potential in the area.

Brookfield bought seven and a half acres known as the Muttart Lands,south of the LRT station. It's to be split into four lots where mixed commercial and residential buildings are expected to be built.

Last year, the developer and the city partnered up, with both investing $14 million inthe redevelopment project.

Brookfield is also banking on neighbourhood upgrades to revitalize the area.

"We're going tohave new amenities, new green spaces," said Cherie Stewart, senior manager of business development with Brookfield. "It's going to create a new connection to the Commonwealth Stadium."

At Brookfield's site, the land is being prepped with heavy equipment before construction starts.

The city is expected to start infrastructure work in the spring.

Travis.mcewan@cbc.ca
@Travismcewancbc