Frequently Asked Questions

Spruce Grove's City Centre, a Rich History.

The City Centre is the oldest part of Spruce Grove and has experienced, like many other downtowns, a resurgence of great ideas to redevelop the area. There is a rich history of businesses and residents working together to develop and plan a successful City Centre. Some strategies date back to 1982. Here is a brief timeline of the Spruce Grove City Centre development initiatives.

1982 - "Central Area Redevelopment Plan (CARP)." This plan was to provide the role and an identity for Spruce Grove's City Centre.

1991 - "Update to the 1982 Central Area Redevelopment Plan."    The update to the 1982 CARP was prepared by the Edmonton Regional Planning Commission with the goal of strengthening the role and identity of Spruce Grove's City Centre. The updated plan was reviewed by a steering committee comprised of Spruce Grove City Aldermen, Department Directors from Economic Development and Planning & Engineering, the Chamber of Commerce and the residents of Spruce Grove. The Steering Committee decided the historic City Centre should be retained and promoted and that a vision was integral to the future of the Central Area Redevelopment Plan. 

1997 - "Downtown Development Action Study (DDAS)."    The City of Spruce Grove hired design and planning consultants to create a unified vision of the downtown. Stakeholders were engaged and a strategy was developed aimed at cosmetic and physical improvements, local business support and marketing and creating a pedestrian oriented environment. The function of the DDAS was to increase the appeal of the City Centre by enhancing its physical appeal. The issue came when parties involved could not agree on the amount of investment required and with some choosing not to contribute to enhancements. The project was then limited in completion.

2010 - "City of Spruce Grove's Municipal Development Plan (MDP)."   The most recent update to the City's Municipal Development Plan was revised in 2010 under the "Your Bright Future" plan. This plan offers a geographical definition of the City Centre and addressed the revitalization in several sections. Future Land Use, Form and Infrastructure and Economic Development to develop the City Centre as a mixed use hub of activity with a distinct identity.

2014 - April - "Stakeholder Engagement Meeting." This meeting was attended by a number of land and business owners and the City of Spruce Grove.  All came to voice their concerns, opinions and assessments of the economic and physical climate in the downtown Spruce Grove. They discussed perceived strengths, key issues and concerns, ideas to move forward with and an agreement to increase communication and buy-in from all parties. From this meeting, a study was to be developed to document the current status and situation analysis of Spruce Grove's City Centre as it relates to its viability for revitalization strategies and initiatives. The City of Spruce Grove commissioned Cushing Terrell to conduct a City Centre Revitalization Discussion Paper outlining the potential next steps for the City in how it could move forward in revitalizing the City Centre area. The paper is a document designed to stimulate discussion and identify considerations for the City to potentially pursue. The study was carried out over the period of April to June of 2014 where information was collected from many sources using several methods to prepare a list of City Centre revitalization considerations. The completed paper was put before City council in July of 2014. Council took the recommendations and incorporated that information into that year's City of Spruce Grove's Corporate Plan and all Corporate Plans to follow. 

The top two considerations from the City Centre Revitalization Discussion Paper put forward by City Council in the Corporate Plan in 2014 were:

                                            1.) Establish a Business Improvement Association and,

                                            2.) Establish a Business Improvement Area (BIA).

Thus beginning a strong reinvigorated movement to revitalize Spruce Grove's City Centre!

City Council passed the City Centre Area Redevelopment Plan (ARP) on April 27th, 2020, which provides a policy framework for guiding development of the City Centre.

The ARP's implementation plan starts with detailed design in 2020 and the start of construction in 2021. The plan includes the following components:

• Parking Management Plan
• City Centre Parking Study
• Urban and Streetscape Design
• Columbus Park Re-Envisioning
• Infrastructure Rehabilitation
  
  

These components together are intended to realize the ARP's vision of creating a vibrant, mixed use destination.

The City Centre Parking Management Plan is a result of the recently approved City Centre Area Redevelopment Plan (ARP). It is recognized that redevelopment may impact the demand and supply of parking in the City Centre. The Parking Management Plan is intended to address these impacts as well as consider the broader issue of mobility in the area. It will provide City Administration and City Centre businesses and residents with guidance on parking issues resulting from implementation of the ARP.

The City of Spruce Grove is within the Edmonton Metropolitan Region and its land use planning is required to conform to the Edmonton Metropolitan Region Growth Plan (EMRGP). Included in the EMRGP, is an inspirational urban and sub-regional centres density target of 100 dwelling units per net residential hectare (du/nrha) within the City Centre (see EMRGP Schedule 6: Greenfield Density, Centres and Intensification Targets). This aspirational target requires the City to demonstrate how it is working towards this in its Municipal Development Plan and other statutory plans, including the City Centre Area Redevelopment Plan.

The City of Spruce Grove has retained Bunt & Associates Engineering Ltd., to develop a Parking Management Plan for the City Centre. This includes a public consultation process, whereby residents, businesses and property owners in the City Centre will have opportunities to provide input and feedback. The engagement will start with an online survey in July and will be followed up with stakeholder workshops in August. For more information on how you can participate, you may e-mail Mark Puczko at mpuczko@sprucegrove.org.

The City Centre Area Redevelopment Plan recommends some changes that would reduce the amount of parking along McLeod Avenue. This is needed to accommodate the redesign of the avenue as well as provide for expanded local transit service. The Parking Management Plan is intended to review the changes required and to recommend mitigation measures. It will consider both on-street and off-street parking as part of the overall plan.

This is your opportunity to participate in the development of the Parking Management Plan for the City Centre. The intent is to seek input from residents and stakeholders on potential concerns and possible solutions in addressing parking issues related to implementation of the City Centre Area Redevelopment Plan. As part of the overall process, the information generated from this survey will be reviewed and considered in development of the Parking Management Plan.