Improvements could be coming to Crossfield’s downtown commercial core after council gave first reading to a downtown and entrance redevelopment action plan bylaw at its Aug. 15 meeting.
Public consultation concerning a revitalization plan for the downtown core revealed three broad themes residents were concerned about, according to Crossfield chief administrative officer Ken Bosman.
The first was a need for a unified and consistent look and feel. He said this included consistent sidewalks to improve walkability and a uniformed standard of high quality material for storefronts.
“Right now, it’s a little bit of this and a little bit of that,” he said. “We’re trying to get back to the traditional rural feeling of the downtown core.”
The second theme highlighted the importance of becoming a full-service municipality so residents could not only live in Crossfield but also play, shop and work there.
“It’s important we are a self-contained community to the highest degree possible instead of simply becoming a bedroom community,” Bosman said.
The third major area of interest for residents involved spreading awareness in the community about the wide variety of shops and services already available in Crossfield’s downtown core.
He said the town would soon release a business directory to help with this.
“It’s really quite surprising how much is already here,” Bosman said.
A public hearing on the downtown and entrance redevelopment action plan bylaw is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Sept. 5 ahead of the regularly scheduled council meeting.
Crossfield’s growth is set to continue as council gave third and final reading to the Hawk’s Landing subdivision during the meeting.
The development, which is located on the full quarter section north of Vista Crossing, will add 110 lots to the community in its first phase.
“It continues our pattern of very, very strong growth,” Bosman said.
Since the engineering work for Hawk’s Landing has already been submitted to the town, shovels should be in the ground soon, he said.
“(The developer) anticipates having lots on the market next year,” he said.
Crossfield has already surpassed its home building permit record of 57 this year and has issued 74 so far, with the anticipation of roughly 100 new housing starts by the end of the year, according to Bosman.
“Population growth is very, very strong and regional interest in building Crossfield is higher than it has ever been,” he said. “With the additional builders coming online, we expect to beat that number by a fairly substantial margin in 2018.”
