Now’s the Time to Create a New Downtown

By Councillor Gerry Warner

Talk about irony! For years, I wrote a column in this space where I often took the City to task and now I’m one of them. However that doesn’t mean I can’t continue to suggest ways to improve Cranbrook and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.

Just back from a two-week vacation in Barcelona – what a city – and you know what’s the last image in my mind? An ugly pall of smoke over the downtown as we left early to catch our plane in Calgary. A disturbing send-off for sure.

Thanks to the Internet,  I was soon filled in on all the details and let me add my congratulations to the outstanding efforts of the fire department and the RCMP that saved lives and prevented the flames from spreading farther than they did even though the loss to the city was still great.

Now what?

Please don’t take this the wrong way, but it just may be possible that the destructive blaze may open the door to a new opportunity in our somewhat beleaguered downtown, which has suffered for years as previous City administrations sought opportunities to grow the city elsewhere as our historic downtown languished.

As a result, our oft-derided “Strip” has most of the business that you’d expect downtown and we only narrowly escaped efforts in recent years to develop new “mini downtowns” in residential developments on the periphery of the city and outside its borders. The economic downturn took care of that possibility, at least for the short term, and what are we left with? Downtown Cranbrook, of course, but what about a new, revitalized downtown?

I’m serious. Perhaps there was a message in that unfortunate fire two weeks ago and this may be a never-again opportunity to finally get off our collective butts and do something with our downtown other than watch it languish. I’m glad to say the City, in fact on the very night before the fire, gave third reading to a downtown revitalization bylaw that will give a badly needed tax break to any downtown business owner or developer that expands their premises or constructs something new. And boy do we need something “new” downtown.

Saying this, of course, is one thing.  Doing it is another, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be done. In fact, I’m lead to believe that even before the fire at least one developer with a proven track record was taking a hard look at a potential downtown development here and there’s likely to be others especially with the new revitalization tax bylaw in the mix. And let’s face it, if there’s going to be new major development downtown , it’s almost 100 per  cent certain it’s going to have to come from the private sector. The City can encourage it, as it already has, and be supportive in every way possible. But in the end it will most likely be a private developer or businessman, most likely a visionary type, that will roll the dice, take the risk and breathe new life into the downtown core that desperately needs it.

But they won’t be entirely alone either. We have a very active and dynamic Downtown Business Association (DBA) that’s itching to revitalize the downtown. Our Chamber of Commerce supports development as a matter of principle and I’m sure they would be anxious to climb aboard. There’s also CABBDA, a developers group that   have made it plain that they would like to see more development in the Key City. And then there are private citizen groups like the one trying to restore the Armond Theatre and turn it into a youth arts centre and a possible meeting place for civic functions. Sure it’s a long shot, but this is exactly the kind of creative thinking needed to make our downtown a happening place that it used to be and which is becoming again with the success of the farmers markets in Rotary Park. Our sister city of Fernie provides an example of what can be done downtown with the restoration of the former Fernie Secondary School into an upscale condo development downtown.

So Cranbrook, what do you think? Maybe at some point the City should hold a public meeting where more ideas could be tossed around. Let’s get some momentum going.

And if you’re looking for inspiration remember what Jane Jacobs, the philosopher queen of revitalized downtowns once said in “The Death and Life of Great Cities”: “You can't rely on bringing people downtown, you have to put them there.”