Mayoral candidate Don Scott announced on Monday that revitalizing the downtown core and developing new strategies to do so, should be a priority to the next municipal government.
Continuing with his campaign theme of ‘building towards a stronger tomorrow’, Scott believes that the new strategy for refreshing downtown should explore developing the urban core into a centre of service delivery including, urban park spaces, niche retail outlets, restaurants, coffee shops and other businesses.
“Barring significant private investment in a large-scale catalyst project, I believe it is crucial to develop a plan and strategy that would see the urban core return to the kind of area where residents access services such as doctor’s offices, dental clinics and social profit organizations,” said Scott.
“There is also potential to develop a branded downtown entertainment district to ensure the downtown core is active during the evening hours, and given the success of local urban, farmer and flea markets there is an opportunity to explore the concept of a permanent public market space.”
Scott said the RMWB must revisit the 2016 Land Planning and Development Committee Proposal that suggested four different choices for downtown redevelopment, including the options to dispose of the municipally owned property to private investors.
“We also need to pursue an aggressive strategy to attract investors, businesses and entrepreneurs that may wish to invest in the region by ensuring they understand that Fort McMurray is open for business and supportive of new business opportunities,” said Scott.
“Should an opportunity present itself in which private investors would like to pursue development of a large-scale catalyst project in the downtown core, I believe this is an option worthy of consideration as long as it makes sense for the taxpayers of this region.”
You can learn more about Scott’s platform here.
The municipal election is on Oct. 16.
