Charlottetown looking for ideas to transform Queen Parkade in city's downtown
CBC
What does the future look like for the Queen Parkade?
That's a question posed by Charlottetown officials as they seek developers to figure out how the four-storey parking structure located in the city's downtown can be better used in the years ahead.
The city-owned parkade is showing decades' worth of wear and tear. The lines on some of its 338 parking spaces have faded, and even the letter "K" in the "Queen Parkade" sign at the front of the building is mostly missing.
The parking garage was built in 1979. Coun. Norman Beck said the 44-year-old structure is reaching the end of its life.
"One of the things that we've talked about is that developers want to be involved in projects. They want to speak to us about what can come about," Beck said.
"This is really a good opportunity to work with developers proactively and upfront.… For me, it's a canvas waiting to be painted and we've got tremendous opportunity here."
The property is zoned as Downtown Core and Downtown Main Street, which means it can be used for apartments, bars and restaurants, offices, hotels, retail stores and more.
Charlottetown is still working on its official development plan, the master document that will guide the city planning for the next several decades. One of the city's goals is to increase density and available housing as it faces unprecedented population growth.
The city says the Queen Parkade redevelopment is an example of where the goals of the official plan can be put to work.
The city has put out an expression of interest, looking for developers to submit their vision for what should be done with the property.
The only caveat is that the number of parking spaces needs to either remain the same or increase.
As for how exactly the property will be rejuvenated, Beck said that's totally up to the developer's vision.
"The sky is the limit in terms of development," he said.
"This expression of interest is an opportunity to say to developers, 'What can you foresee are the possibilities with this beautiful piece of property?'"
This First Person column is the experience of Shannon Flaman, who lives in Red Deer, Alta. For more information about CBC's First Person stories, please see the FAQ.
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