Delta council last week endorsed an ambitious plan aimed at further revitalization of Ladner Village and the waterfront, making it a place people will want congregate, spend time and enjoy themselves.
Already having undergone a number of actions, the latest initiative by the city will include starting up a special task force, beginning an engagement and communications strategy with the community as well as obtaining the services of a branding and wayfinding consultant to help develop a Ladner Village brand and signage plan that is supported by the broader community.
The revitalization of Ladner Village represents a multi-year endeavor to transform Ladner’s downtown core and waterfront and that transformation will occur through a combination of private redevelopment and City of Delta projects, an update report to council explains.
The city manager established the Ladner Village Revitalization Staff Task Force “to take significant and immediate measures to activate and revitalize Ladner Village and advance initiatives to redevelop Ladner Waterfront.”
The biggest move recently announced by the city is the acquisition of commercial properties at 4940 and 4946 Chisholm St. and 4926 Delta St., pending completion of the transaction and transfer of lands in April.
All commercial tenants in the buildings will be provided six-month tenancies, which is to allow time for tenants to find new locations. The plan is to then begin decommissioning the lands for future development. An economic feasibility study for all the Delta-owned properties bounded by Delta, Chisholm and Elliott streets is underway to determine the viability of a mixed-use hotel anchor tenant.
With limited hotel supply in Delta and across Metro Vancouver, staff believe that a new hotel with a trendy restaurant and bar would be a welcome addition to Ladner Village, the report notes, adding that a hotel development would also be a nod to the historical use of the area as a waterfront hotel before it was destroyed by a fire a century ago.
Meanwhile, other activities already underway include, among other things, the removal of the collapsed Brackman-Ker building foundation beside the Chisholm Street Wharf.
Staff have started to look for major activation opportunities to draw people to the wharf once improvements are complete.
Proposed activations may include pop-up bars/wineries, temporary street closures for markets and special events, conversion of on-street parking spaces to other uses and amenities like public art, busking, landscaping, and seating for sidewalks and public plazas, the report suggests.
“The goal of these activations is to build a sense of place along the Ladner Waterfront, foster civic pride, enable social connections, support local businesses and artists, attract families, visitors, and residents, encourage walking and cycling, and create a fun village vibe for people of all ages. Activations will be larger in nature than popup park programming and require additional budgetary considerations in order to execute,” the report explains.
Given the success of the 2023 Barnside Harvest Festival, staff believe there is significant appetite in the community for major activations, and especially evening activations, the report adds.
