City of Prince Rupert, Mayor Brain outline enthusiasm for plans for Downtown Gateway project

As we outlined yesterday, the look of the downtown area is in for a bit of a significant makeover, with the City of Prince Rupert recently submitted an RFP with BC Bid for an initiative called the Prince Rupert Gateway Project.

That concept for downtown redevelopment, which is part of the Rupert 2030 vision planning, would see the redevelopment of a one block stretch of Third Avenue West from McBride to 1st street, which as it evolves could include the creation of a pedestrian mall.

Today, the City provided for its own talking points for the proposed development, described as the Area of Priority Development, expressing their excitement for the new vision for the downtown region.

“The City of Prince Rupert is very excited to be working with Northern Savings Credit Union, anadjacent property owners, to begin the transformation of Prince Rupert’s downtown core as outlined in our Rupert 2030 vision. The intention of this phase of the Gateway Project is to attract interest from qualified developers and work with community partners to completely rebuild the intersection at McBride and 3rd Ave and significantly enhance the downtown experience in a big way.” -- Mayor Lee Brain

In our notes from yesterday we also highlighted the involvement of Northern Savings Credit Union in the planning, something which the Mayor has hailed as key to the new experience for the Third Avenue area.

“The City of Prince Rupert is very excited to be working with Northern Savings Credit Union, and adjacent property owners, to begin the transformation of Prince Rupert’s downtown core as outlined in our Rupert 2030 vision. The intention of this phase of the Gateway Project is to attract interest from qualified developers and work with community partners to completely rebuild the intersection at McBride and 3rd Ave and significantly enhance the downtown experience in a big way.”

Today's announcement from the city also took note of the commitment of the financial institution to the proposal.

“The Credit Union is committed to building sustainable communities through working alongside community partners. The Gateway Project is a natural alignment for us to not only create a new facility for our members, clients, and staff, but to contribute to the revitalization of Prince Rupert’s downtown core as part of the Rupert 2030 vision.”

The bids close for interest in the proposal on September 1st

You can review the city's announcement here.

Update: Tuesday afternoon saw both Mayor Brain and Councillor Blair Mirau make use of their social media fields to expand on the announcement.

Mayor Lee Brain

Councillor Blair Mirau

More notes of interest from City Council can be found from our archive page.

Cross posted from the North Coast Review.