The Crescent
Plan calls for city's historic core to be marketed as cultural centre
David Hutton, The StarPhoenix
Published: Wednesday, June 20, 2007
A development plan for a cultural corridor, dubbed "The Crescent," calls for the transformation of Saskatoon's historic core by marketing it as a creative hub, redeveloping older buildings, bringing in more riverfront events and improving ties with the university.
"Culture is very real," said Terry Scaddan, executive director of the Partnership, a downtown business group. "The only real branding we've had in the past was, 'We've been here a long time,' but people want something real, they want to experience festivals, events, galleries and theatres."
A $200,000 development strategy, which is a working draft in its final stages, was carried out by three consultants with backgrounds in city planning, retail and economic development on behalf of the three business improvement districts: Broadway, Riversdale and downtown. Funding was provided by the federal government's cultural capitals program.
The document will be used as a guide.
The three districts are now marketing themselves collectively as the Crescent, with the hope they can work together to bring in more commerce, tourism and development, create more traffic among the areas and fight off competition from big-box development in the city.
Together, the main roads of the three areas loosely form a crescent-shaped "C" on the map, which led to the name, Scaddan said. While the areas are working together on this project they will still maintain their distinctiveness.
"We want to promote the area as a whole while still keeping the identity of each area at the forefront," said Tammi Campbell, project co-ordinator for the Crescent.
The development plan includes six key strategies and a collection of ideas to attract people to the areas. The consultants visited Saskatoon for three days in February to take an inventory of what was here and brainstorm suggestions for change.
One of the marketing ideas outlined in the plan has the districts purchasing unclaimed bicycles from the annual police sale, painting them the colour designated for their area and allowing people to ride them for free between the three districts.
"It's worked in many other places," said Dan Carmody, the lead consultant. "It's about reducing that perceptual distance because in real terms to go across the river isn't that far. That psychological chasm that is the river valley needs to be closed."
The theme of the document is that Saskatoon will thrive by providing more opportunities for arts, culture and creativity. While resource-based economic booms have a history of busting, the consultants argue a creative corridor such as the Crescent would act as a sustainable resource.
To succeed the districts need to further capitalize on their thriving arts and cultural centres, they say.
The consultants point out that many of the cutting-edge centres are currently housed downtown and in Riversdale, where artists can afford space to work. These artist-run centres and non-profit organizations need to be promoted, they say.
"The centre of the city is a rich under-utilized gem," Scaddan said. "We want to bring back the local tourist who maybe hasn't been to the areas in awhile."
The consultants argue the new Farmers' Market will form the heart of the crescent, bringing people from across the city to an area they wouldn't regularly visit and creating more opportunities for commerce. They also call for more Jazz Festival stages in the Broadway and Riversdale areas and a signature annual event to "put skin on the bones of the Crescent skeleton."
One of the keys to becoming a creative hub is further integrating the "isolated" University of Saskatchewan with the rest of the city, the consultants argue. They call for a proposed university arts centre to be located in River Landing to help bridge the "town/gown" gap.
The plan also calls for "imaginative redevelopment" of "white elephant structures" such as the Barry Hotel, as well as the Adilman building, and the expansion of the Saskatchewan Native Theatre Company in Riversdale. They suggest an architectural firm could work with artists to renovate the Barry Hotel.
The consultants argue the Broadway area needs to initiate a planning process that looks at stricter design standards and a parking plan. They also note higher rents and a changing demographic may push Broadway to evolve from a "raucous drinking destination" into a more mature area with higher-end businesses. Attracting trendy stores such as those found on Calgary's 17th Avenue or Edmonton's Whyte Avenue is also recommended.
"It's definitely a concept and there are a lot of good ideas there," Scaddan said. "With a little luck it will take on a life of its own and become real."
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AT A GLANCE:
Keys to Building "The Crescent"
- More events along the river, including an annual event put on by the business districts.
- A stronger marketing strategy that focuses on the arts and cultural centres in the areas.
- More building around the Farmers' Market, the project with the greatest ability to transform the crescent.
- Stronger relationship between the U of S and the downtown area.
- More cultural leadership in the form of a crescent council that includes government, university and business people.
- A community-based development entity that would come up with creative development ideas.
^It's certainly true that the river acts as a "psychological chasm" that separates Broadway from Downtown/Riversdale. It is my sincere hope that these three districts working together to form "The Crescent" will succeed in bridging these areas to create one large dynamic and vibrant city core.
Also, as these consultants have pointed out, I too have always felt that integrating the University with the downtown and bridging the gap between these two significant areas would have great effects for downtown.
But how do you do that? The consultants have suggested an arts centre. On a MUCH larger scale, what about the establishment of a downtown campus?
I certainly hope that "The Crescent" will be more than just matching streetscaping with banners telling you you're on "The Crescent." Each of the 3 areas has to have something unique to offer and pedestrian friendly linkage between the areas is a must. A related article in the SP today speaks of finalized plans for 19th St. street-scaping and measures that will be taken to improve the pedestrian environment along that street. It is paramount that 19th Street be improved as it is next to River Landing.
The consultants also speak of the need to re-develop old buildings such as the Barry Hotel and Adilman bldg. on 20th. In my mind, I can see the Barry being transformed into a mix of condos, artist spaces and retail. I wonder if the Adilman bldg. could be made suitable to house the Sask. Native Theatre Company?
On another note of what may be to come for downtown, a "high ranking" person involved with baseball in S'toon believes that a new feature stadium for Saskatoon is just a few years down the road. He expressed that a downtown location would be ideal... hey, that's nothing definite, but at least the movers and shakers are on the same page as us with the belief that a new baseball stadium should be downtown.
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