#OurDowntown

Downtown is more diverse and inclusive than ever as residents, businesses, and organizations representing people from around the world utilize the centre of our city on a daily basis.

Through the sharing of food, people and relationships, or cultural activities, visitors will find diverse ethnic and cultural experiences in our Downtown. Whether you are spending time in the small but culturally and historically rich district of Chinatown, visiting any of the ethnic restaurants and retailers - Tacos Made in Mexico, Nakagama’s Japanese Foods and Giftware, Josees Handmade Imports to name a few - or by participating in some of the amazing cultural activities and events hosted by the Southern Alberta Ethnic Association (SAEA) at its downtown location in the Multicultural Centre on the corner of 6^th Avenue and 5^th Street South.

The SAEA represents diverse ethnic societies and clubs in southern Alberta as they promote understanding, awareness, and celebration by offering programs that highlight different global cultures, languages, religions, cuisines, dancing and performances, ethnic music, thoughts and philosophies.

Throughout the year the SAEA organizes and showcases a multitude of cultural events such as regular Cultural Nights, celebrations of Heritage Day, Festival Latino, Caribbean Carnival, and an Annual International Dinner and Dance. There are a number of upcoming events (many that involve delicious food) before the year is done, including: Taste of Africa (Oct. 26), Taste of Ecuador (Nov. 30), Christmas around the World (Dec. 14) and BavaRu New Year’s Eve (Dec. 31). These events are open to everyone in the community and add to the rich cultural vibrancy and inclusive nature of our Downtown.

By bringing proud socio-cultural practices representing different parts of the globe face to face at a common point, we are afforded the opportunity to learn, share and appreciate each other’s culture. This provides endless opportunities to bridge differences and foster unity in our society. What better place for this to take place than in the Heart of Our City – our Downtown.

I challenge every resident to help Our Downtown to be the best it can be. With our partners on the Downtown BRZ and the Heart of Our City Committee, we encourage you to contribute to the content of this column and the video series with your comments, questions, ideas, and suggestions by engaging with us on Twitter (@DowntownLeth) using the hashtag #ourdowntown and at www.getinvolvedlethbridge.ca/ourdowntown.

*This column was published in the Lethbridge Herald on October 22, 2018

A Business Revitalization Zone is a special assessment district established by businesses in an area to jointly raise and administer funds through a designated levy (tax) for various projects and promotional activities within the zone throughout the year that contribute to improving the economic and social vitality of the area.

The Downtown Lethbridge Business Revitalization Zone (BRZ) was established in 1987. It is a visionary collective of business leaders who believe that the heart of the city beats in its center core. Since inception, the BRZ has succeeded in adding the necessary vibrancy to make that heart beat with a strong and steady pulse.

The BRZ serves its members through marketing and implementation of unique programs that promote and highlight the positive aspects of our downtown and by providing public advocacy on important issues affecting the downtown core. Through a close partnership with the City of Lethbridge, the BRZ also administers several key programs on behalf of the City of Lethbridge’s Heart of Our City committee including beautification loans and grants, marketing, public relations, and street maintenance initiatives.

In large part due to the tireless work of the BRZ, our Downtown is an ideal business environment in a premium centralized location with a unique mix of retailers, restaurants, coffee shops, and professional services. This is abundantly evident as over the past few months a handful of new and innovative businesses have opened their doors in our Downtown including: Hive – a creative co-working space, London Road Media – a modern marketing and advertising strategy company, Mortar and Bricks – a premiere gallery and event space, and Pure Spa – a health-oriented spa destination.

To learn more about these new businesses and others in our Downtown be sure to check out the BRZ website (www.downtownlethbridge.ca) and social media accounts (@DowntownLeth) as a new video series titled #OurDowntown will highlight the stories behind new businesses in our Downtown. The first video is posted today and features Pure Spa owners Rachel and Jayna who share why they decided to bring holistic healing to Downtown Lethbridge.(click here for video)

I challenge every resident to help Our Downtown to be the best it can be. With our partners on the Downtown BRZ and the Heart of Our City committee, we encourage you to contribute to the content of this column with us on Twitter (@DowntownLeth) using the hashtag #ourdowntownwith you oncomments, questions, ideas, and suggestions .

*This column was published on October , 2018

Our Downtown holds significance as the historic, symbolic, and perhaps most importantly, the functional core of Lethbridge. While suburban expansion of the City to the south, north, and west and several whole-block redevelopments of large sections of Downtown (i.e. Lethbridge Centre Mall and Park Place Mall) have changed the city centre markedly, Downtown retains many of the characteristics that made it an important regional centre for commerce, tourism, transportation and living over the last century including a fantastic supply of buildings with historic significance

The preservation of these historic buildings along with the appropriate integration of new development with existing buildings has been a major focus of those involved in the revitalization of the Downtown. Whether big or small, dramatic or modest, historic buildings and compatible new development add richness and variety to the urban form of our Downtown and help forge a powerful bond between the present and past.

For many years, buildings with historic significance have been viewed by some as a barrier to redevelopment. However, over the last decade, with the vision and guidance of City of Lethbridge’s Municipal Development Plan, Heart of Our City Master Plan, Downtown Area Redevelopment Plan and Heritage Management Plan, this perspective has largely been reversed by identifying practical and achievable objectives, actions, and strategies to protect and manage the Downtown and Lethbridge’s historic buildings.

Today, historic buildings and the overall historic character of the Downtown are seen more as an asset than a burden to redevelopment. Some excellent examples of these efforts include: conservation of the Bowman Building, sensitive additions at the Galt Museum and Southern Alberta Art Gallery, adaptive reuse of Suites at 601 and Oliver Building, new construction of the Scotia Bank incorporating tyndall stone – a historic downtown element – and countless improvements to building facades and signage.

Historic buildings provide character, continuity and a sense of uniqueness to our Downtown and the efforts of all those who have contributed time and financial investments to the protection, conservation, and integration of historic buildings in our Downtown is greatly appreciated as there is clearly value in old bricks.

I challenge every resident to help Our Downtown to be the best it can be. With our partners on the Downtown BRZ and the Heart of Our City Committee, we encourage you to contribute to the content of this column with your comments, questions, ideas, and suggestions by engaging with us on Twitter (@DowntownLeth) using the hashtag #ourdowntown.

* This column was published September 24, 2018 in the Lethbridge Herald.
* Herald photo by Ian Martens

Attracting people year round to the downtown has been a central goal of the Heart of Our City Committee over the last decade as people are the key to an exciting, vibrant, and animated downtown environment.

In 2011, with the belief that increasing the number events and festivals in the downtown core would help drive animation, vibrancy, and overall positive awareness of Lethbridge Downtown, the Heart of Our City Committee launched a new initiative entitled the Heart of Our City Activity Grant. The initiative would provide City of Lethbridge funds to help local organizations host festivals and cultural or community events within the downtown core.

Over the first eight years, the initiative has proven to be tremendously successful in bringing people from across the entire city downtown on a regular basis, including many who do not live or work near downtown. This serves not only to make downtown more vibrant during the events themselves but also to make a wider portion of the community aware of the unique amenities that exist in the downtown core. Once a citizen has been exposed to all that downtown has to offer, they are more likely to visit downtown for shopping/dining/entertainment on other occasions and are even more likely to consider living downtown or perhaps locating their business downtown.

In 2018, 23 events were provided grant funding which resulted in 115 days of additional event based activation of the downtown drawing approximately 65,000 visitors into the Downtown. There are several major activity grant-supported events still to come in 2018, and I encourage citizens to get out to these great events and enjoy our downtown. Upcoming events include: Arts Days Sept. 22-30; The Word on The Street Festival Sept. 22; Bright Lights Festival Nov. 16; Queen Scarlet Cinema Sept. 12, Oct. 18, and Nov. 21; and Lunch and Learn Concert Series Oct. 5, Nov. 2, and Dec. 7.

The 2019 Activity Grant submissions will be open soon with a deadline of Oct. 31, 2018. For more details please stay tuned to www.lethbridge.ca or contact andrew.malcolm@lethbridge.ca.

I challenge every resident to help Our Downtown to be the best it can be. With our partners on the Downtown BRZ and the Heart of Our City Committee, we encourage you to contribute to the content of this column with us on Twitter (@DowntownLeth) using the hashtag #ourdowntown with your comments, questions, ideas, and suggestions.

*This column was published on September 10, 2018 in the Lethbridge Herald.

Think of any city you’ve come to love. Whether it’s world renowned, a centuries-old classic or comparatively new and contemporary, every one of them has a vibrant place at its core – Downtown.

Downtowns are iconic and powerful symbols for cities. They often feature the most recognizable landmarks, distinctive businesses, vibrant streets and diverse people. Given that downtowns are typically among the oldest neighbourhoods in most cities, they offer insights into their cities’ past, present, and future; while giving you a sense of a city’s personality.

A city’s downtown has an important and unique role in economic and social development. Downtowns create a critical mass of activities where commercial, cultural, and civic activities are concentrated. This concentration facilitates business, learning, and cultural exchange. They are also often the hotbed of business creativity, neighbourhood activism, non-profit enterprise and economic diversity as well as a destination for visitors, seniors, and young talent.

Revitalization of downtown areas can be extremely challenging for a variety of reasons including but not limited to: balancing the needs of diverse uses and users unlike any other area in the city, making considerations for the car in an area primarily developed prior to the car-dominated culture of today, competing with development on the edge of the city where development opportunities are basically a clear canvas, and addressing areas that may be neglected, struggling, or contentious. The challenging process of downtown revitalization is continual and never complete – but it is always exciting and extremely rewarding.

Over the past two decades, with the guidance of the Heart of Our City Master Plan, much work has been accomplished to revitalize and strengthen Downtown as the symbolic and historic heart of Lethbridge. These successes are largely a result of the ongoing process of revitalization which incorporates projects, initiatives, incentives, and events hosted or supported by the City of Lethbridge, the Heart of Our City Committee, the Downtown Business Revitalization Zone (BRZ), and the efforts of countless individuals who frequent and support the Downtown on a day-to-day basis.

Today, Downtown Lethbridge is a vibrant place distinguished by its rich past that is evident in architecture, streets, parks, and landmarks, which also reflect the community values that are unique to Lethbridge as a whole. Downtown is thus both a source and an expression of community identity and pride.

This new bi-weekly column will highlight some of the efforts going on behind the scenes to ensure that our Downtown remains a central gathering place where all Lethbridge residents have the opportunity to live, work, shop, play, dream, and connect.

I challenge every resident to help Our Downtown to be the best it can be. With our partners on the Downtown BRZ and the Heart of Our City committee, we encourage you to contribute to the content of this column with us on Twitter (@DowntownLeth) using the hashtag #ourdowntown with you on comments, questions, ideas, and suggestions.

*This column was published August 27, 2018 in the Lethbridge Herald.