A captivating setting can transport people to another time or place, create a certain mood or atmosphere, and enhance the overall story of a community. Whether it's grand and elaborate or simple and minimalistic, a well-designed and carefully planned area can have a significant positive impact on the lives of those who experience it.

Airdrie City Council has identified Downtown Revitalization as a key focus area. Our goal is to transform the downtown into a vibrant and thriving area that offers a unique blend of proactive investment, strategic location, community engagement, sustainable growth, and collaborative support.

Our aims are clear: we want to double the current development in the downtown by supporting local businesses that want to expand and attracting new investments. We also aim to draw residents by supporting the development of new housing options and invite visitors to the area with exciting new events.

Downtown redevelopment will create a place for people to gather and activate the downtown area with exciting events and businesses. It will also improve the economic value of the land by reducing urban sprawl and allowing the City to generate revenue from currently vacant land.

Our Core Strategy: A Revitalization Plan for Downtown Airdrie, adopted by Council in September 2022, encourages us to approach downtown revitalization in a unique way – to “downtown differently”. The plan thoroughly examines the strengths and weaknesses of the downtown and sets ambitious objectives to accelerate development. This work is expected to create between 1,000 and 7,000 new jobs and residents, as well as up to $154 million in new assessment value over the next 10 years.

 Read the Downtown Area Revitalization Plan (pdf)

The City has taken a proactive approach to make downtown Airdrie an attractive place for investment by proposing a series of incentives to accelerate downtown redevelopment.
These incentives include things like subsidies for parking structures, coverage of insurance fees to operate on City sidewalks and funding for events. These measures aim to create vibrancy and make it financially feasible to develop in the downtown area, which will ultimately result in more people living, shopping, and visiting there.

The following Incentive Resolutions and Bylaws were adopted by Council in September 2022:

• Resolution 01-2022 (Parkades) (pdf)
• Resolution 02-2022 (Insurance and Furniture) (pdf)
• Resolution 03-2022 (Business Support Fund) (pdf)
• Resolution 04-2022 (Mixed Use and Housing Refund Policy) (pdf)
• Resolution 05-2022 (ESA Grant) (pdf)
• Resolution 06-2022 (Main Street Supports) (pdf)
• Resolution 07-2022 (Expedited Review Process) (pdf)

Bylaws

• Bylaw B03-2022 (Prevent Berms/Fences along Nose Creek) (pdf)
• Bylaw B06-2022 (Waive Downtown Parking Variances) (pdf)

Community Revitalization Levies were created by the province to allow municipalities to invest in public infrastructure or take actions necessary to encourage private investment. This is done by using the provincial portion of tax revenues from assessment increases in a specific geographic area.

At a special meeting of Council on December 28, 2022, following a public hearing, the CRL was approved and went into effect on January 1, 2023.
CRL projects will help the City of Airdrie to do “Downtown Differently”.

Learn more about Airdrie’s CRL