The City of Prince George will unveil a marketing plan for the downtown Friday morning meant to attract businesses and land developers to revitalize the core.
Creating a marketing plan was one of the recommendations that came out of the 2009 mayor's task force on improving the downtown.
"We think we'll be turning heads - people will look at Prince George differently," said Kathie Scouten, a senior official with Initiatives Prince George, the city's economic development agency.
On hand to launch the new marketing plan will be mayor Dan Rogers, Initiative Prince George officials and members of the Downtown Partnership. The Partnership, now a permanent committee of city council, was created to oversee the implementation of the the task force recommendations.
Scouten wouldn't release any details of the marketing plan on Thursday, but said it builds on previous work including the city's Smart Growth plan created last year.
The marketing plan will be ready to be implemented immediately, said Scouten.
The $50,000 in funding for the marketing plan came from Initiative Prince George's sale of the ACS call centre on Second Avenue.
The city's Smart Growth plan includes design concepts to revitalize streets, with a stress on housing and more green space, as well as a push on sustainable energy.
There's a myriad of downtown housing ideas put forward that include back-to-back townhouses, stacked townhouses and mixed commercial and residential buildings.
The plan also calls for a performing arts centre downtown, cultural precinct and a year-round market place.
The mayor's task force has led to some downtown improvement, including increased policing measures and a clean-up program. The city also purchased an aging hotel and bar for $2.5-million which they are holding for redevelopment.
