If you could build anything in the city, what would it be?

And the old firehall is comin' down

May 03, 2023

An intriguing post on Hell Yeah Prince George in which local realtor Jen Higman asks:

What businesses would you like to see on the Hart? There seems to be a lack of large development and services on the Hart. I have a wonderful developer who wants to know what you want to see!

Will build to suit. The sky is the limit.

Red lobster? Trampoline park? Tell me what you want

People often daydream on Facebook about what they’d like to see added to the city but there is additional incentive here with a developer who is, apparently, ready to make somebody’s dreams come true. I don’t know exactly how that will work (assuming there will also have to be a business case) but it’s pretty interesting to read through.

I don’t know if it’s just the algorithm but the first ask I saw was an indoor skate park (yes please!) but there are lots of other suggestions, too. Some are pretty Hart-specific (a gym, Starbucks or a grocery store would benefit the neighbourhood but would not be big news for the city as a whole) and some I doubt would happen (an Ikea) but a frequent theme is some sort of indoor play space for kids — arcade, indoor playground, the aforementioned trampoline park, etc and I will say that even as someone without my own kids I’ve noticed a severe need for something like this. When I was growing up we had the Family Fun Centre and, later, Bubba Balloo’s (the former an arcade with minigolf, the latter an indoor playground with laser tag and a smaller arcade) which were perennials for kid’s birthdays, plus a climbing gym, bowling, etc. We still have a climbing gym and bowling but I honestly don’t know what exists to fill the same sort of multi-activity niche where you could let a group of 6-14 year olds run loose and tire themselves out for an afternoon. I know there are some VR spots but I feel like that’s just not quite the same.

On top of that, the smaller indoor play spaces we had are, I think, mostly gone now? The Exploration Place got rid of their playground (fair play, they are a museum), I don’t think restaurants like McDonald’s have ball pits anymore (hygeine and staffing) and while I’m sure there are a couple of smaller places I don’t know about I have no doubt parents in this city would hunger for something like those. So if I were to to take a bet about what a developer could do with a large, indoor space that would bring in people from across town, this would be it. We’ll see, though!

PS: After I wrote this someone posted asking for memories of Bubba Balloo's on Reddit and it's a huge discussion of people remembering how awesome it was when they were kids which is great, but legitimately what place exists now that future adults will remember with the same nostalgia?

Meanwhile, the downtown firehall is coming down this month. There are no immediate plans for what will replace it (see here for more information about that) but it is in this core area of city-ownerd properties they are able to develop and once again, people have their suggestions.

On Facebook, the top comment is someone asking that it be left as parking given all the traffic to the new pool, and the city’s reply is:

Consideration of the use of this property will be part of the Civic Core District Plan. The entire area from City Hall to the Pool to the Library needs a plan. We will start some community engagement activities to hear your thoughts in the coming months!

So watch out for that!

Grouse grind

I wrote about Lheidli T’enneh councillor Josh Seymour’s encounter with a grouse and found out a bit more about what was likely going on.

Quick news:

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