Let’s recap a busy week for 104 Street!

This week has been so full of exciting news and announcements related to 104 Street downtown that I figured a quick recap would be helpful.

Mercer Warehouse

It started on Tuesday with some coverage of the renovations taking place at the historic Mercer Warehouse, located on the corner of 104 Avenue and 104 Street. Owned by the Pope family, the building will soon be home to a flower shop, a restaurant and bar called Mercer Tavern, a high-end furniture rental company, and Roast Coffeehouse, among other tenants. I got to tour the building this week, and while there’s a lot of work still ahead, it is fantastic to see the building coming back to life.

Confederation Building

On Wednesday we learned that The Confederation Building, which has been undergoing a much-needed facelift since late last year, will soon be home to a 7-11 as well as a whisky bar. I love the idea of a whisky bar as opposed to just another pub, and though you might scoff at first, the 7-11 is a big deal. Alex makes the point: “I see a new 7-11 as a sign that there’s a permanent population that justifies its creation (many new residences have been created on or around 104th).”

104 Street

Yesterday the news came out that Langham Developments Ltd., the developer behind the Icon towers, has purchased the land at the northwest corner of 104 Street and 102 Avenue. Currently home to a parking lot, we’ve heard for many years that condos would be going up on that site, but it sounds like it might actually happen now. Langham is planning something similar to the Icon, with two towers. I think they did a great job of keeping the Icon towers in line with the Heritage Zone, so I am looking forward to the new development.

There have of course been lots of other things happening on 104 Street as well:

Oodle Noodle

Oodle Noodle’s latest restaurant, located just around the corner on Jasper Avenue, opened recently and has been busy.

I Think I Do

The film I Think I Do is filming in and around Edmonton, and was located on 104 Street in the Armstrong Block most of last week.

Birks Building

The façade improvements to the Birks Building are ongoing and so far look great!

There are more announcements on the way in the next couple of weeks, including the launch of our new website, so stay tuned!

More than 3 million text messages were sent for ETS bus schedules in 2011

A little over a year ago Edmonton Transit (ETS) introduced bus schedules via text message. Simply send a message to 31100 from your cell phone with the bus stop number, and ETS will respond with a list of upcoming routes and times. It’s a fantastic service that I have used dozens of times over the last year, and clearly I’m not alone. A little over 3.1 million messages were sent last year! Here’s the monthly breakdown:

ets text messages in 2011

Back in June, when I wrote about the launch of the advertising component to the service, about 1.2 million messages had been sent, or 7050 per day. By the end of the year, the daily average had risen to 8494. You can see that the increase is due in large part to the back to school season – the number of messages sent jumped from 225,730 in August to 333,877 in September.

As expected, increased use of the text messaging service has led to a decrease in the number of calls made to BusLink, the automated 24-hour telephone line for transit information. Nathan Walters from ETS told the Journal that the number of calls dropped by 340,000 in the first nine months of last year to 2.8 million. I suspect it dropped even further when school started up again.

It’s great to see people embracing initiatives like this! ETS recently launched an updated Trip Planner that contains a number of new features like the ability to subscribe to email alerts for planned detours and bus stop closures, and there are additional technology-related services on the way. Should be an exciting year for connected transit riders!

Media Monday Edmonton: Update #27

Yikes, over a month since my last update! Time to get back to it. Here is my latest update on local media stuff:

You can follow Edmonton media news on Twitter using the hashtag #yegmedia. For a great overview of the global media landscape, check out Mediagazer.

So, what have I missed? What’s new and interesting in the world of Edmonton media? Let me know!

You can see past Media Monday Edmonton entries here.

The Town of Edmonton was incorporated 120 years ago today

It was 120 years ago today that Edmonton was incorporated as the Town of Edmonton. In the January 9, 1892 edition of The Edmonton Bulletin, the announcement was simple and followed updates on who had visited the town recently as well as a note that John Cameron, President of the newly established Board of Trade, had been “confined to the house…with a severe cold.” The single line read: “A copy of the ordinance incorporating Edmonton as a town was received by Monday’s mail.”

Fort Edmonton had of course been around for about a century by the time Edmonton became a town. With a population of just 700, Edmonton was small but the arrival of the CPR south of the river the previous year brought with it the promise of rapid growth. It also prompted fears that South Edmonton, or Strathcona, would become the city, leaving Edmonton to remain the smaller and less important community. Thus efforts got underway to make Edmonton a town.


The first train into South Edmonton on November 25, 1891

A few weeks later on January 30, 1892, a more complete story on incorporation was published in Frank Oliver’s Edmonton Bulletin. The paper noted that incorporation would take practical effect on February 10 when the first council would be elected. It also offered a brief analysis of the reasoning behind and impact of incorporation:

“Incorporation did not become a fact on account of what Edmonton is, so much as on account of what it is to be. It is not a result of the development that has occurred – wonderful though that is, all things considered – so much as a step towards still further development.”

“It was felt that a crises had been reached in the affairs of the town in which so many have sunk so much of their capital of time and energy and money, and that united action from this time forward had become a necessity if what had been gained or made was to be preserved.”

The story went on to discuss the importance of the first town council, asserting that “there is no reason why they should not be successful, or that Edmonton should not be in a very few years, as nature plainly intended, the leading city in the Northwest.” Even then Edmontonians were clamoring for recognition!

Also in that day’s paper came notice about the first election. Nominations for a mayor and six councillors were held on February 3, 1892 at Fielder’s Hall, from 10am until noon. The election was held a week later at the same place, from 9am until 5pm. Persons qualified to vote included: “All men, unmarried women and widows, being British subjects over 21 years of age, who have been owners or householders within the municipality for a period of not less than three months next preceding the day of voting.”

Four women voted in the election, and more votes were cast than expected. “Due to an unexpected population spurt, an anomaly occurred in the statistics dealing with voter turnout. Extra ballots had to be printed to include those who were earlier excluded from the original voter list.” Matthew McCauley (after whom the McCauley neighbourhood was named) was acclaimed as Edmonton’s first mayor. There were fourteen candidates for council, and the six councillors elected alongside McCauley were Colin Strang, Daniel Fraser, Edward Carey, James Goodridge, John Cameron, and Philip Daly. The first meeting of the newly formed town council took place on February 15, 1892.

These men all had a big impact on the growing town. McCauley later represented Edmonton on the Territorial Legislature, and was a founding member of Edmonton’s school board, for which he earned the nickname “Edmonton’s Father of Education.” Strang was an accountant, and also served on the school board and the board of trade. Fraser, who operated flour mills, also served on the first council of the new formed City of Edmonton. Carey co-founded Edmonton’s first general store, Norris & Carey. Goodridge of course built Edmonton’s first brick hotel, Jasper House. Cameron was president of the board of trade and also served on the school board (the Cameron Heights neighbourhood was named in his honor). And Daly operated a pharmacy and bank before entering politics.

Strathcona followed Edmonton’s lead and was incorporated as town in 1899. Both towns experienced rapid growth – Edmonton’s population had surpassed 8000 by the time it was incorporated as a City in 1904. Once again Strathcona followed suit, becoming a city in 1907. Just five years later in 1912 the two amalgamated, setting the stage for Edmonton to grow into the city we know today.

You can see the Government of Alberta’s Location and History Profile for Edmonton in PDF here.

Edmonton Notes for 1/8/2012

I ended up taking quite a bit more time away from blogging in December than originally intended, but it was nice to have a break. Sharon and I went to Yellowknife for Christmas, and the time away was just what we needed! Then January hits, and things go back to normal 🙂

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

Eight Degrees
“Eight Degrees” by Kurt Bauschardt

Here are some upcoming events:

Why 2012 is going to be a big year for Startup Edmonton

I can’t believe it has been nearly four years since Edmonton’s first DemoCamp took place! Who could have imagined, on that winter evening in the dungeon-like basement of the University of Alberta’s School of Business building, that sixteen DemoCamps would take place over the subsequent years. But they have, and they are still as popular as ever, regularly drawing 200 people from a wide variety of communities – entrepreneurs, programmers, designers, investors, and lots of others. DemoCamp Edmonton 17 is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, January 18 – don’t miss it!

I also never imagined that DemoCamp would eventually lead to Startup Edmonton, but I’m glad it has. Ken, Cam, Sam, and Tiffany recognized that DemoCamp was actually part of something bigger, and they decided to do something about it.

We help connect creators, innovators and entrepreneurs to start and scale bold new ideas through events, mentorship, workspace, and accelerators. Our vision is to make Edmonton a hotbed for creativity and entrepreneurship. Our mission is to amplify creative innovation and activate startups. Our goal is to invest in 500 creative entrepreneurs over the next 5 years.

DemoCamp helped showed us that Edmonton is full of smart, talented, creative people with really innovative ideas. But having an idea is not enough – you need to take action. That’s where Startup Edmonton comes in.

The organization has been around for a while now, organizing events like Launch Party and TEDxEdmonton in addition to DemoCamp, but it became much more official on December 5. That’s the date Startup Edmonton turned into a fully-fledged non-profit company. Here is the board of directors:

  • Todd Babiak – Co-Founder, Story Engine Inc.
  • Brad Ferguson – CEO, Strategy Summit Ltd.
  • Veer Gidwaney – CEO, DailyFeats.com
  • Chris LaBossiere – Co-CEO, Yardstick Software
  • Chris Lumb – CEO, TEC Edmonton
  • Mack Male – Co-Founder, Paramagnus Developments Inc.
  • Gregg Oldring – Co-Founder, Mailout Interactive / Inkdit
  • David Quail – Co-Founder, Attassa
  • Darin Rayburn – Executive Vice President, Melcor Developments
  • Kevin Swan – Principal, iNovia Capital
  • Sheetal Mehta Walsh – Founder/CEO, Shanti Microfinance

Though not everyone could attend the first meeting in person, there was great energy in the room as we went through introductions and got down to business. Here is our management team:

Rock stars, each and every one of them!

Startup Edmonton

The year ahead

Ken and the team spent countless hours last year planning, networking, connecting, pitching, building – basically doing all of the things a startup needs to do. They’ve put a solid foundation in place, and they’re the right team to drive the organization forward. With the help of our founding partners, I really feel like Startup Edmonton is going to make a big splash in 2012.

The investment ecosystem in Edmonton (and Alberta) is pretty good at funding things that already have momentum, but there’s a serious lack of viable products flowing into that funding pipeline. Yet we know from DemoCamp and other events and initiatives that there is no lack of ideas. How can we get people with ideas to turn into entrepreneurs with fundable products? That’s the challenge that Startup Edmonton will tackle. Here’s how:

  • Inspire – DemoCamp and other events to bring the community together
  • Create – Hackathons, Startup Weekend, and other events focused on prototyping
  • Accelerate – Incubator for early stage tech startups to rapidly take their prototypes to the next level

Startup Edmonton is already pretty good at “Inspire” and efforts related to “Create” are ramping up, but it’s “Accelerate” where things will get really interesting this year. The tech accelerator program is called Flightpath, and it will invest in up to 30 early stage software/digital media startups over the next three years. These are small financial investments, but combined with mentorship, learning, and networking opportunities, the goal is to help startups make meaningful progress in a short period of time. To turn more ideas to into fundable products.

You will of course see more DemoCamps, Startup Weekends, Launch Parties, and other events in 2012. But you’ll also see the startup space that was teased a couple of months ago – a physical space downtown “where geeks, entrepreneurs, and creatives collide.” You’ll see more opportunities to share your knowledge and to learn from others. You’ll see the launch of Flightpath and the first class of startups. You’ll see a more concerted effort to build awareness of startups in Edmonton.

And I think you’ll start to see that creative entrepreneurs and Edmonton’s future are beautifully intertwined.

It’s going to be a great year – get connected!

Top 10 Posts for 2011

As I have done for the last couple of years, I thought I’d post a list of the ten most viewed posts of the year on my blog. You can see the 2010 list here, and the 2009 list here.

Here are the top ten individual posts from 2011 by views:

  1. Daily Deals in Edmonton
  2. What the Truck?! Edmonton’s Food Truck Extravaganza
  3. Edmonton’s Homicide Rate: How much has changed in 30 years?
  4. Homicide Rates in Canada: Statistics & Trends
  5. Your Guide to Summer Festivals & Events in Edmonton!
  6. More than just email: Google Apps goes live at the University of Alberta
  7. Avenue Edmonton’s Top 40 Under 40 for 2011
  8. Edmonton Transit (ETS) now offers schedule information via SMS text messaging
  9. Timeraiser Edmonton 3 and WestJet Giveaway!
  10. The City of Edmonton is failing at public involvement

Thanks for reading and commenting over the last year!

Vibrant Streets X-posed

I was across the pond in London last week, so I was unable to attend the Downtown X-posed event that took place on Thursday at the Shaw Conference Centre. Though I wasn’t there in the flesh, I did participate by way of a video!

Here’s my video on vibrant streets downtown. It focuses on 104 Street, the “blueprint” for future streets in Edmonton’s downtown.

I saw some really positive feedback via Twitter, so I hope the video was well-received at the event.

The features I went through in the video are not the only things that make a street vibrant of course, but I do think they are important. The bottom line is that people make streets vibrant, so we need our streets to attract and support people. No other street downtown does that better at the moment than 104 Street.

I <3 YEGDT: Downtown X-posed

Hundreds of Edmontonians will gather next Thursday at the Shaw Conference Centre for a full day event focused on downtown. Organized by the EEDC and the Downtown Vibrancy Task Force, the Downtown X-posed event will provide an opportunity to learn more about the broad array of things happening downtown, and will also give attendees a chance to provide input and feedback on how we can continue the positive momentum.

The vibrancy and character of a community’s downtown is a critical part of its identity. Think about places you’ve travelled to and you’ll know exactly what we mean. Please join us for a dynamic, one-day, one-of-a-kind event to learn about Edmonton’s downtown – what we have now, what’s in the works, what’s yet to come, and some new things we might need to consider. Come learn, talk, connect and get involved in your downtown. As goes your downtown, so goes your city.

51/366: I <3 yegdt

It has been a pretty great year for our downtown. EPCOR Tower, the first new office tower in two decades and also our tallest, opened.  Despite some hiccups, both the arena project and the new Royal Alberta Museum appear to be moving forward. The province is working to complete the renovations of the Federal Building and the adjacent Centennial Plaza in time for next summer. The first phase of construction on Capital Boulevard is underway. MacEwan University has started working toward its single sustainable campus. I could go on – the point is, there’s a lot happening! Megaprojects aren’t enough though, we need more people living and working and shopping and learning downtown. What are the barriers this? How can we make it happen? What are we missing? Join us next week to discuss those questions and more.

I had the opportunity to talk about the event yesterday on CTV Edmonton:

Downtown X-posed runs from 7:30am until 3:30pm on December 15. Tickets are just $50, which includes breakfast and lunch. You can purchase tickets here. If you can’t make it, be sure to follow along with #yegdt on Twitter.

YEGWOOD Launch Party & TreeFarer Shades Giveaway!

yegwoodOne of the highlights of this year’s Fringe Festival was Sustainival, an amusement park on the grounds featuring carnival rides powered by used vegetable oil (Sharon wrote about our experience here). With sales of more than 25,000 rides and lots of positive feedback, the first iteration of Sustainival was a big success for founder Joey Hundert. Now he’s focused on his next venture: YEGWOOD.

YEGWOOD is a group of fashion & environmentally conscious people. We like our style and we love our planet.

We’re also from Edmonton, which isn’t necessarily a global hub of progressive fashion. We’re not knocking our small town of a million people, but great wears can be hard to find here. So, we set about our task of bringing absolutely righteous apparel & accessories to YEG. Thus, YEGWOOD was born.

I remember seeing the Yegwood booth at the Fringe Festival, and of course it caught my eye because of the name. Their first product was the WeWOOD watch, a line of watches made from recycled wood. Now they’re offering wooden sunglasses, also using recycled wood. And maybe soon, prescription glasses too:

“We have our labs here in Edmonton and we have been experimenting with prescription frames, so all of the folks who have inquired about using our glasses for their day-to-day glasses, we will be able to offer something soon.  In the mean time, we have some seriously beautiful sun glasses for Albertans to enjoy during our upcoming sunny winter (yes, we are willing a sunny winter to happen).”

To celebrate, Yegwood is hosting a launch party on December 17 at Da Capo. You can see the event details on Facebook or on ShareEdmonton. One of the highlights is a photo booth sponsored by Georgie Magazine. Simply get your photo taken wearing a part of the sunglasses and you could win a pair for free!

Here’s a promo video for the event featuring the Da Capo crew:

I’d encourage you to check out the event to learn more about Yegwood and the new sunglasses. If you can’t make it though, don’t worry – Yegwood has given me one pair of TreeFarer sunglasses to give away here!

The TreeFarers are inspired by the classic Ray-Ban Wayfarer. The rust FRAMES & TEMPLES (arms) are made out of a reddish softwood with a tight grain pattern. The HINGES are spring-loaded to flex in either direction (in & out), ensuring the right fit across a broad spectrum of faces. The LENSES are polarized poly-carbonate with a medium tint; they are UV400 rated. 

The glasses have a retail value of $119. There are only about 50 available for the holiday season!

To enter the contest, simply leave a comment below telling me how you plan to live more sustainably in Edmonton in 2012. The winner will be picked at random from the comments. The contest closes at 12:00 AM on December 18 (midnight on the evening of the 17th).

You can like Yegwood on Facebook to keep up-to-date on news and announcements. Check out Metro’s article on Yegwood too.