Rob: Teepee Town – the redevelopment plan for that area of Canmore still going ahead. This has been a process about 15 years in the making. There’s already some redevelopment going on. 2nd Ave, the one that’s fronts onto Bow Valley Trail, there are a couple of buildings where there’s these little shops on the ground floor. They kind of stick out like a sore thumb right now, but a proposal as far as what Teepee Town might look like in the future in this new redevelopment plan could see that actually being the new normal.

Tanya: What’s proposed to change from the old plan to the new plan is the amount of commercial on 2nd Avenue. There’s the hotel and then there’s the hospital that kind of bookend 2nd Avenue and all of these properties are facing onto Bow Valley Trail. Currently in the redevelopment plan, only half of that block is allowed for future commercial development and that commercial development is optional. What’s proposed to change is commercial will no longer be optional, so any buildings redeveloping would be required to build the commercial on the bottom floor, and it would expand all the way to the end of the street at the hospital.

The background that most people should be aware of is that the neighborhood itself has a task force that has been working with the municipality on updating this plan, so there is support within the neighborhood for these changes. I doubt it’s unanimous. But these things weren’t just plucked out of thin air by administration as ideas to try. It’s been a concerted effort over multiple years to understand what’s working and not working in this particular area when it comes to redevelopment.

Rob: It’s not just 2nd Avenue. The entire road network in there is in pretty bad shape. And just the fact that a lot of these houses are old people want to redevelop. What is that going to look like? There needs to be a framework in place for that.

None of these ideas have been approved at this point in time. I believe there’s a public hearing coming up where people can express their thoughts and learn a little bit more.

Tanya: The public hearing is scheduled for June 2nd 9:00 AM; it’s one of three public hearings. The Town of Campbell has changed their process, so if you wish to make a verbal submission you can register by emailing the Municipal Clerk, or you can provide a written submission. Some other changes include increased residential densities and accessory suites. But the road network itself is a huge issue and is likely to be brought up.

Filed under: Canmore, Mountain Insider