Demolition of the buying space will start in July and be accomplished within the fall, stated present proprietor Harvard Developments
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Going through demolition for months to clear the best way for the Inexperienced Line LRT, downtown’s Eau Claire Market will shut its doorways on the finish of Could, it was introduced Monday.
The 170,000-square-foot indoor market, which has struggled to achieve a agency foothold within the metropolis’s retail and leisure panorama because it opened in 1993, can be handed over to town Could 31 in preparation for the eventual development of a CTrain station on the location.
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Demolition of the buying space will start in July and be accomplished within the fall, stated present proprietor Harvard Developments, which stated it additionally has plans to redevelop a part of the world.
“The closure marks the top of an period for Eau Claire Market, which has served as an eclectic hub for buying, leisure, and group occasions since its arrival in 1993,” the corporate stated in a press launch.
“The addition of the longer term Inexperienced Line Station is predicted to be a catalyst for the location; supporting Harvard Developments’ plan to remodel it right into a mixed-use, transit-oriented space that aligns with the expansion technique of Downtown Calgary.”
Joey Eau Claire and Native Public Eatery will stay working, stated Harvard.
‘Like a ghost city’
The market has been dying a gradual dying, a demise accelerated by the announcement in January 2023 of the upcoming closure and the necessity for 50 tenants to shut up store or relocate, stated John Yee, proprietor of Sumo Lounge that’s been a eating mainstay there for greater than a decade.
“Enterprise has dropped fairly drastically (since January 2023) — loads of companies have moved on and moved out so individuals don’t wish to come down right here,” he stated.
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“It’s been useless, virtually like a ghost city.”
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Yee served his ultimate clients on the finish of final month and plans to public sale off what restaurant tools and furnishings he can earlier than shifting to Nanaimo, B.C. the place he would possibly resume his enterprise.
The current demolition of the constructing that was as soon as dwelling to the Laborious Rock Cafe on the northwest fringe of the market was the most recent signal of issues to come back, he stated.
“As soon as the Laborious Rock closed and after the Nineties, it stored deteriorating down right here,” stated Yee.
Farewell pageant deliberate
A farewell pageant on the market can be held Could 11 as a possibility for Calgarians to reminisce about downtown hub, stated Harvard Developments.
“Through the years, Eau Claire Market has been greater than only a buying vacation spot; it has been the backdrop for quite a few occasions, and group gatherings,” stated the developer.
“Because the host web site for the Calgary Worldwide Movie Competition, Style of Calgary, Pet-A-Palooza to Canada Day Celebrations and hundreds of cultural performances, the market has left an indelible mark on town’s social and cultural cloth.”
The Inexperienced Line is to finally run 46 kilometres from a hundred and sixtieth Avenue within the north to Seton within the metropolis’s far south, marking the biggest infrastructure undertaking in Calgary’s historical past.
The primary $5.5-billion part will embody 13 stations extending from Eau Claire to Shepard.
BKaufmann@postmedia.com
X (Twitter): @BillKaufmannjrn
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