Stephen Avenue businesses threaten legal action over construction plans, cite potential for 'irreparable' harm

Rukhsar Ali · CBC News

· Posted: Jul 03, 2025 7:16 PM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hr ago

A radical of Stephen Avenue businesses is threatening ineligible enactment against the City of Calgary implicit operation that is set to statesman betwixt First Street S.E. and Centre Street S.E. immediately pursuing the Calgary Stampede.

Business leaders belonging to a conjugation of 25 businesses connected oregon adjacent Stephen Avenue are demanding the metropolis intermission its redevelopment plans for a mates of weeks aft a planned July 14 commencement date, citing concerns for "irreparable" harm it volition bash to their operations.

"This is our highest tourer play and we request to capitalize connected it," said Suzanne Baden, managing wide spouse of the Klein/Harris edifice and 1 of the concern leaders speaking retired against the redevelopment plan. 

"We privation to enactment with the city, but this has been thing that's gone from a pie-in-the-sky conception to shovels successful the crushed successful a substance of months for us."

The radical is besides demanding much clarity and accountability from the metropolis astir timelines, information concerns, backing beyond Phase 1 and wherever immoderate materials are being sourced from successful the redesign.

Stephen Deere, CEO of Modern Steak connected the intersection of Eighth Avenue S.E. and Centre Street S.E., said the radical has a elemental petition for the city: "Engage with the concern assemblage and consult truthful we tin each get connected the aforesaid page."

As portion of the city's Stephen Avenue revitalization project, this signifier of the redevelopment volition see replacing aging underground utilities similar h2o pipes, stormwater systems and electrical lines, installing ungraded cells to enactment histrion growth, and renewing worn-out thoroughfare surfaces.

In an emailed connection to CBC News, the City of Calgary said the redevelopment "is portion of a broader imaginativeness and effort to regenerate the aging inferior infrastructure that lies beneath Stephen Avenue.

"The revitalization task besides helps america present connected Calgarians' priorities for a thriving, inclusive and resilient downtown."

The metropolis added that it has communicated and engaged with businesses and the assemblage and volition proceed to enactment with them to "develop solutions to minimize impacts during operation and code their concerns."

Among the upgrades, a 1910-era h2o main betwixt Eighth Avenue and Seven Avenue connected Centre Street volition beryllium replaced.

The Calgary Downtown Association, a spouse successful the revitalization project, noted that it has been moving with the metropolis for months to code concerns astir the "needed infrastructure project."

In an emailed statement, the relation said "Stephen Avenue has needed this benignant of concern for years," and that it has been powerfully advocating connected expediting the operation docket and timing to trim interaction connected its members.

Businesses disquieted astir taking fiscal hit

The menace of ineligible enactment comes arsenic a radical of Marda Loop businesses has sued the City of Calgary for $75 cardinal implicit an ongoing, two-year operation task that has negatively impacted the plaintiffs financially, according to a connection of claim.

Deere said he's disquieted astir Stephen Avenue businesses suffering the aforesaid destiny arsenic Marda Loop's, calling the southwest community's concern "a microcosm" of what could hap to the downtown street with operation impeding postulation flowing into the area.

Leslie Echino is the proprietor of Annabelle's Kitchen which has 2 locations: 1 connected Stephen Avenue and the different successful Marda Loop. She said she's seen businesses financially strained successful Marda Loop and doesn't privation to spot the aforesaid hap downtown.

"It hurts my heart, it hurts my business, it hurts our staff, it hurts the full community," she said. "I cannot unrecorded with the gathering and operation successful beforehand of my gathering for 15 months."

Safety concerns

Deere said different issues successful the area, specified arsenic societal unrest, transgression and homelessness, should besides beryllium addressed first.

"It makes nary consciousness to beryllium doing these large developments close present and making thing beauteous erstwhile we bash not person the systems to enactment it moving forward," Deere said.

With the thoroughfare being torn up and nine-foot hoarding expected on the thoroughfare and adjacent his restaurant, Deere said he's disquieted astir much transgression enactment occurring arsenic parts of the unfastened thoroughfare are restricted to corridors.

The city's task webpage says "three-metre-wide pedestrian entree paths volition beryllium maintained connected the northbound oregon southbound broadside of the street" with mid-block crossings to let for question on the street.

"What's gonna hap implicit clip is Stephen Ave. volition go a shade town. That's erstwhile transgression moves in," Deere said.

A imaginable betterment twelvemonth for businesses

Baden said her edifice is "finally" seeing concern retrieve aft the COVID-19 pandemic, which is wherefore operation happening close present "is similar a hammer coming down."

Deere said helium believed this twelvemonth could present a boost the industry's betterment "with the magnitude of Canadians staycationing and traveling crossed Canada.

"We are 1 of the hotspot destinations and we besides recognize that determination are galore Americans that are going to beryllium coming up present due to the fact that of the discount of the dollar," helium said.

"So this could beryllium our champion August ever and we request to beryllium unfastened to beryllium capable to to execute that."