Tourist Attractions you would like to see in Calgary

[Innersoul1]

Originally Posted by MasterG

I wonder if it is even possible to get a large institution like that in the centre city?

Most of the examples elsewhere were rehabilitated older buildings that were hard to repurpose, such as St.Lawrence Market. We really don't have any, unless they open Mewata for that purpose.

Granville Island would be a nice example of a modern one, but if I recall correctly, it was an underused industrial plot. Calgary doesn't have a stock of underused industrial buildings in the core, with an exception of a few plots along 10th / 11th ave. However, it is not like these are a deal either, any farmer market would have to outbid a condo developer for the plots. I really don't know the economics of building a farmers market from scratch, but I suspect it has relatively tight margins and tends to shy away from building construction.

I'm not sure the path that is required to get there in the current market, but I do think the next phase of Calgary's urban boom has to be some larger institutions like a farmers market. The NMC is certainly shaping up to be a draw along with the new Library.

I feel like we are fairly limited in the core in terms of bringing this sort of thing indoors in a functional space like the Calgary Farmers Market. As you pointed out we don't have those old industrial style buildings.

Maybe something done in conjunction with the East Village would work. My vision would be a weekly, weekend outdoor market. Maybe along the River Walk or on the Fort Calgary lands. There is that BIG field. You would have vendors much like the Grassroots Northland Market, food trucks, crafts vendors etc. Much like the vendors we see at events like Lilac Fest. If they really wanted to go big they could erect one of those temporary tents at Fort Calgary to take the vendors out of the elements.