Despite all of the time, money and effort made to lure a couple of new hotels and two new apartment/condo buildings downtown in the past 10 years, the real heart of the city continues to grow and prosper much faster with little local government support.
New Downtown is the west bowl area between Ospika Boulevard and Highways 97/16, from 15th Avenue to Ferry Avenue, with new apartments, hotels and retail developments springing up in response to demand from residents and consumers. The area is anchored by Exhibition Park to the west, the College of New Caledonia and Prince George Secondary School to the east, a row of apartments and retail areas to the north, and Pine Centre Mall (with a massive new Save-On-Foods under construction) to the south. The city’s two public transit hubs, at Spruceland and Pine Centre malls, are located just north and south of New Downtown, which has easy road access and plenty of public parking.
As the Prince George Coliseum, Elksentre Arena, the Prince George Conference and Civic Centre, the Prince George Playhouse, Studio 2880 and Bob Harkins library branch reach the end of their useful lives, the city should build their replacements at Exhibition Park, creating a year-round hub of sports, culture and events. When it’s time for a new city hall, its replacement should be built on the land currently used for the city’s 18th Avenue city works yard and Quinn Street Transfer Station, while the city works yards should move back to Old Downtown.
With its proximity to the airport, rail yard and heavy industry, Old Downtown would make an excellent light industrial park. The area east of Queensway and along First Avenue is already light industrial. Keeping the core of the city’s social services located in and around the courthouse would help prevent some of the city’s crime, homelessness and social problems from migrating to New Downtown. Light industrial businesses, with sturdy fenced compounds, heavy-duty walls and doors, and few walk-in customers, are far less vulnerable to casual crime than retail stores and restaurants with large glass frontages.
Prince George has wasted decades and millions of dollars trying to make Old Downtown something it is never going to be, but it’s not too late to change direction. People and business have been voting with their feet they’d rather be in New Downtown for nearly half a century. Local government should get with the program.
