May 13, 2025
The City of Edmonton launched its new Downtown Action Plan, which outlines actions to help catalyze investment, growth and transformation in Edmonton’s downtown over the next five years. It builds on the momentum of existing work, including the Downtown Vibrancy Strategy, transformational projects like Warehouse Park and several other public and private investments.
“Our downtown is a place where commerce, diversity and creativity flourish. It’s a place for everyone to gather to celebrate, share ideas, learn, trade and innovate,” said Mayor Amarjeet Sohi. “The Action Plan is our roadmap to unlocking downtown’s full potential. It was built with input from our passionate community partners and, together, we will make meaningful progress in our downtown.”
The Downtown Action Plan balances essential core services, financial stability, economic development and safety over the next five years. The Action Plan’s four goals, supported by eight actions and 45 subactions, are:
- Economic Growth - increased property values
- Residential Growth - increased residential population
- Vibrancy Growth - more visitors, students and workers
- Business Growth - reduced commercial vacancy
“Investments in downtown benefit all Edmontonians,” said Tom Girvan, Director, Downtown Economy. ”A stronger downtown economy not only supports the City's financial stability, it creates new job opportunities, attracts more world-class festivals and events, promotes more residential development and stimulates new businesses.”
The Downtown Action Plan proposes a substantial financial commitment of approximately $553 million for the revitalization of Edmonton's core. Funding sources include:
- Approximately $511 million leveraged through the Downtown CRL (with roughly $440 million contingent on the proposed extension, subject to budget approvals)
- $9.5 million from the Downtown Action Plan (formerly the Downtown Vibrancy Strategy)
- $15 million dedicated to student housing through the Housing Accelerator Fund
- $2.5 million allocated from the Funds-in-Lieu reserve for parkland acquisition
“Downtown revitalization remains a key priority for our industry, and we continue to work closely with the City of Edmonton on initiatives like the potential CRL extension, office-to-residential conversions, parking standards, and the new Downtown Action Plan,” said Kalen Anderson, CEO, BILD Edmonton Metro. “As a co-author of the industry-led Downtown Investment Plan, BILD Edmonton Metro is encouraged to see strong alignment with the City’s Downtown Action Plan, reflecting a shared commitment to downtown’s growth and transformation. Since 2015, over $5 billion has been invested downtown—$1.5 billion from the City and over $2.5 billion from the private sector—demonstrating a more than 160 per cent return on investment on public funds and the power of public-private collaboration.”
“We applaud the City of Edmonton for putting forward this high-impact Downtown Action Plan which recognizes the economic and cultural significance that our downtown has for the entire city,” says Puneeta McBryan, CEO, Downtown Business Association. “We are at a critical moment in time to restore our city to the highly attractive, vibrant, and economically prosperous place that we know it can be, and this critical work must start from the core. We look forward to working in partnership with the City to implement this plan over the next five years.”
Edmonton’s downtown numbers:
- More than $5 billion in public and private investment since 2015
- 1,632 businesses
- 69,353 employees
- Nearly 13,000 residents
- 10.5 kilometres of bike routes
- 22 parks and open spaces downtown with easy access to the largest urban parkland in North America
- More than 3,000,000 people attend festivals, exhibitions, events and live performances downtown each year
