(Facebook/Invest Medicine Hat)

By Tiffany Goodwein

Proposed waterfront district, municipal stimulus projects highlighted in 2021 State of the City

Jan 26, 2021 | 6:31 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – Upcoming development projects rose to the forefront, as Mayor Ted Clugston delivered the 2021 State of the City.

One of the main highlights was the proposed waterfront development district which is intended to capitalize on 1 km of riverfront land stretching from the Library to Athletic Park. A first step vision of the proposal was displayed during the State of the City address. An enhanced riverside walkway, a natural playground, and market commons that could provide up to a dozen commercial opportunities were among some of the features in the proposal.

The proposal also features a community square that could host a number of outdoor events, from outdoor concerts to fitness activities. Space is also proposed for food trucks and outdoor markets.

“Over the next 10 to 20 years the waterfront district will emerge as Medicine Hat’s premier destination, as we look to capitalize on our most important asset, the South Saskatchewan River. At this early stage our vision is of an Urban Village with more than 1000 new housing units, new office space, new retail opportunities,” said Jon Sookocheff of Invest Medicine Hat.

“We anticipate the private sector will invest more than $300 million in to making the waterfront district a reality,” he added, noting the construction phase of the project could add some $700 million in business to business sales in related economic activity.

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River-facing housing could also be a possibility. Clugston confirmed a conditional offer has been accepted from NewRock Developments to build condominiums on the former arena lands on Ash Avenue.

Overall, Clugston, who also announced he will seek re-election this fall, said 2021 will be a busy year for construction, largely because of the municipal stimulus projects that need to be completed by the end of the year.

Those projects include the town square, a multi-court pickleball facility, and upgrades to the BMX track.

The city is also expected to convert its remaining 15 to 20 site full-service camping sites and add three to five comfort camping cabin style sites with the Municipal Stimulus funding.

An addition to an existing city office building located on the 700-block of First street is also among one of the stimulus projects.

Clugston said the intent of the city building is to consolidate city staff currently in buildings in various parts of the city.

“We are trying to get our employees out of all the offices, all over the city and get them downtown into one office across the street from City Hall. So it is actually aimed at cost savings,” Clugston said.

With many projects on the go for the City of Medicine Hat, Clugston said the city is racing around the clock to ensure that the projects get completed on time or they could lose their funding.

“The province has threatened that if you don’t spend the money then they will take it back, and they’ve even said we will give it to other municipalities that are able to spend it on time, so we really have to work hard in order to get out fair share,” Clugston said.

The ground is expected to break on the stimulus projects as soon as it is possible, ideally in early Spring, according to Clugston.