Steely ambition: Edmonton Project pitches shipping container park

A competition aimed at building a new Edmonton landmark could trigger the construction of a shipping container fortress in the river valley.

The project calledTheInner City, would see the creation of a shipping container park at the old Rossdale power plant site or elsewhere on the Rossdale Flats on the northern banks of the North Saskatchewan River.

Repurposed shipping containers would be stacked into a three-storey complex which would serve as a new waterfront retail hub, live entertainment venue, and gathering place for Edmontonians.

The containers would be used for food and drink service and for retail merchants.

"There will be different levels of shipping containers stacked on top of each other, and each level will be a different space," Elyse Chatterton said in an interview with CBC Radio's Edmonton AM.

"We'll have pop-up restaurants, pop-up bars.

"It's a flexible space that encourages people to be creative."

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Chatterton, a Edmonton-based food blogger, and her friend Carla Wilson, a local bank manager, have pitched the plan to the Edmonton Project.

The proposal is among 10 finalists in the competition, hosted by five local companies, which aims to find a distinct new landmark for the city,and make sure it's constructed.

Online voting on the finalists is now open but ultimately, the winning entry will be picked by a panel of judges at a public hearing showdown that will take place March 6.

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The shipping containers would be outfitted as "flexi-spaces," said Chatterton. Some of the containers would be set up as boutique retail spaces. Others would repurposed as open-air pop-up eateries.

Third-storey containers would be transformed into offices and commercial prep kitchens.

Chatterton said the park would be the perfect redevelopment plan for the Rossdale power plant property, which has sat vacant for years.

"It's just part of the river valley that is there that isn't being used," Chatterton said.

"It's just this amazing building, this beautiful structure that nothing is going on with, so it's kind of taking what's already there and making it work for everybody in Edmonton."

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All of the containers would be for available for short-term, even hourly rentals. A centre courtyard would be developed into a garden with a playground, where there would be dedicated space for food trucks and outdoors concerts.

"It's an inclusive space that supports farmers markets, start-ups and neighbourhood gathering places," said Wilson.

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"We want it to appeal to Edmontonians but also be a place that visitors will consider a must-see attraction."

CBC Radio's Edmonton AM will be talking to each of the finalists and profiling the final project pitches over the next two weeks. Submit your vote in the Edmonton Project online.

Listen to Edmonton AM with host Mark Connolly, weekday mornings at CBC Radio One, 93.9 FM in Edmonton. Follow the morning crew on Twitter @EdmAMCBC.