An op-ed about Edmonton’s newest O-Day’ min Park
Written by: Riker Farmer
“Downtown revitalization” has been a talking point echoed by media, politicians and business people in Edmonton for a long, long time.
Revitalization efforts that get the most political and media attention are the ones that may give suburban dwellers more reason to journey downtown.
Because of this, the most impactful revitalization project that has been made to this day has gotten little attention outside of the development community.
O-Day’min Park is not about generating new trips to downtown. Rather, it’s a new central park in a part of downtown that has been neglected for decades, and is capitalizing on what downtown does best: public spaces and third places.
Seen above: 102 Avenue from 109 Street (left) to 104 Street (right)
Long before O-day’min Park opened, this section of downtown housed warehouses and other light industrial uses for the CN rail yard that used to exist north of 104 Avenue. Some of these warehouses have been well preserved with their original brick facades, forming much of the 104 Street streetscape.
When the downtown railyard began to end its operations in the 1980s, the warehouses were bought by speculators and developers and converted into parking lots for interim use. By the late 1980s, a severe recession reversed almost all plans for development. Almost 40 years later, these lots remained undeveloped.
Development needed a gentle nudge and O-Day’min Park was designed to do just that.
The Parks, by Pangman Developments and Maclab Development Group, was the first on board to develop this area of downtown. This project is proposed to deliver over 1000 units across three phases, with the first being completed in early 2025.
As well, Westrich Pacific will deliver 607 units across three projects: Lilac Park (239 units), Lotus Park (152 units) and Vantage Park (201 units). As of February 2026, all three are under construction.
Another project on 108 Street will deliver 54 units and another on 106 Street is proposed to deliver 226.
Maclab has plans for a project on 102 Avenue which may become known later this year.
If you’re keeping track, that is almost 1900 units planned, proposed or underway. All with front doors less than 100 meters from O-Day'min Park.
An explosion of development surrounding the park totals 2.25 hectares, with over 4 hectares including the park.
But it is less about the size of this development. What will be impactful for the vibrancy of downtown streetlife and the vitality of downtown business is the 2000 new units bringing between 2500-3500 new permanent residents. In comparison, the first phase of Ice District saw roughly 500 units across 7.66 hectares of development, roughly one quarter of the density of the O-Day’min area.
Density is incredibly powerful for a few reasons. Aside from the increased patronage of businesses in the area, density enforces public safety through a concept known as “eyes on the street.” With more permanent residents frequenting public spaces, the constant attention on these areas drastically reduces the likelihood of petty theft and vandalism.
Without density it is clear why areas of downtown continue to struggle. Much of downtown has been designed with “downtown as a destination” for suburban dwellers, only to be vacated during off-hours. Much of downtown's streets tend to go unmonitored for large times of the day, contributing to a reduced feeling of safety, which perpetuates dwindling foot traffic.
Situated between three rapid transit lines, the location provides car-free access to almost every corner of the city. Furthermore, the location serves two post-secondary institutions, drawing daily foot traffic from students, faculty and staff. With the plethora of urban amenities now available, it is no wonder why such an explosion of development is occurring.
This project can serve as a framework for future development efforts. Inducing development should be first and foremost about helping an area realize its full potential.
O-Day’min Park met the need for a community space and developers have bought into the vision.