Downtown Edmonton 'education district' could spur revitalization, school leaders say

Post-secondary leaders are calling for a new downtown Edmonton "education district" to support rapidly growing student ranks and spur development in the core.

Norquest College and MacEwan University, only about a block apart in the western part of downtown, are both expecting a 30 to 50 per cent increase to their student populations by 2030.

During a panel discussion Wednesday at the Edmonton Real Estate Forum, Norquest College president Carolyn Campbell said that presents an opportunity to design and build the area differently.

"We are bullish on our growth," she said.

"We could really take a part of our downtown and focus, and you can picture it. And we could have something that genuinely changes the face of Edmonton."

Together, Norquest and MacEwan already bring about 30,000 people downtown every weekday, Campbell said.

MacEwan marked the official groundbreaking Thursday for a new business school building at 109th Street and 105th Avenue. University president and vice-chancellor Annette Trimbee said when it opens in 2027, it will help accommodate 7,500 new students.

Amid the ongoing conversation about how to attract more people to the core, Trimbee and Campbell both say it makes sense to pursue more food and entertainment options that students are asking for.

"Students like living close to where they study, and if we build the right sorts of amenities and services, I think this could be a really thriving and exciting part of Edmonton," Trimbee said.

The downtown post-secondary institutions have already grown significantly in recent years — coming up after the well-established student area around the University of Alberta campus, on Edmonton's south side.

There's no formal designation for a downtown post-secondary district so far, but Mayor Amarjeet Sohi said it's something the city is working on with the schools, and some of the other institutions with a presence in the area.

"The north edge of [downtown] has lacked investment," he said.

There has been significant planning and development for the area around Rogers Place, but Sohi said he'd like to see the new MacEwan business school be a catalyst for more activity in a different part of downtown.

Campbell said Norquest is also looking at options for building more student housing nearby, with more students reporting issues finding an affordable place to live over the last year.