Several Stephen Avenue business owners are threatening to take the City of Calgary to court to stop the planned upgrades on the popular downtown strip.

The business owners say that work is scheduled to begin on the 1 Street SE block on July 14 and continue westward to Mewata Armoury over the next 18 months.

According to the City of Calgary’s project webpage for the Stephen Avenue revitalization, the focus for 2025 work will be replacing underground utilities, including water, storm and power. New soil cells to support healthy tree growth will be done and surface upgrades will happen along the centre of Stephen Avenue.

The site also says that three-metre-wide pedestrian paths will be maintained on the north or south sides of the street during the construction, along with the creation of mid-block crossings.

Stephen Deere, owner of Modern Steak, said that the City of Calgary has bigger issues of social unrest, crime, homelessness and parking issues that need to be solved before it takes on a big development project like this one.

“We’re here to ask the city today to stop the redevelopment for the time being, until we can get a plan that makes sense for all of us,” he told reporters outside his establishment on July 2.

“The city has not engaged correctly with the business community, and has upped timelines and increased the urgency of this project without engaging any of the stakeholders.”

Deere said he believes the lack of a functional plan for the area could put area business owners in the same sort of position as those along 17 Avenue SW or in Marda Loop, where business owners have launched a $75 million lawsuit over three years of construction.

“This is our tourist hub, and we want to be able to put our best foot forward, and we need the city to listen to us in terms of construction, timing, staging and what they’re doing and what they’re doing it with,” Deere said.

Long list of concerns from Stephen Avenue biz owners

Among the issues local owners have, including the alleged importation of granite from Vietnam instead of using local products, is the removal of trees, the lack of a firm budget beyond Phase 1, lack of easy and affordable parking for visitors and downtown workers and a failure to address ongoing social and safety issues in the area.

Leslie Echino, owner of Annabelle’s Kitchen in Marda Loop and a small wine bar along Stephen Avenue, said she’s worried about the future of downtown.

“Digging up a big hole for 15 months and then putting black granite down that comes over from Vietnam isn’t going to make downtown safer,” she said.

“It’s not going to make our businesses thrive. We want people to come down here and be happy, comfortable, enjoy the sun.”

Suzanne Baden of Klein / Harris, a restaurant along Stephen Avenue, said that the business owners in the area are survivors – the 2013 flood, COVID and now tariffs – but the timing of this, right after Stampede, could be devastating.

“For the city to think that on July 14 our revenue stream is done down here, it’s just the opposite. This is our peak tourist season, and we need to capitalize on it,” Baden said.  

“We want to work with the city, but this has been something that’s gone from a pie in the sky notion to shovels in the ground in a matter of months for us, and at this point, we’re not getting the cooperation we feel from the city.”

The business owners were also concerned that with the Olympic Plaza redevelopment going on, the Arts Commons Transformation and the Glenbow Museum project, it’s a lot for the area to take on.

“It’s very important that the city takes a different approach about how they’re going to roll out this construction, to be able to make sure that this is beneficial, not only for the businesses but the Calgary community and all the people that visit our city,” said Deere.

LWC sent the City of Calgary the direct concerns of the business owners for a response to those concerns. A general statement was provided by the City.

They said the Stephen Avenue revitalization project is part of a broader vision to replace aging infrastructure that lies beneath the street, and to build a more resilient and vibrant downtown.

“To achieve this, communications and engagement with businesses and the community have been at the forefront,” the emailed statement read.

“We will continue to work with all businesses and communities to develop solutions to minimize impacts during construction and address their concerns.”

Solutions not being considered: Biz owners

The group said that it has offered solutions, including a better staged approach that won’t have such a significant impact on business owners. They also would like to see the work begin at the west end near Mewata Armoury, where it’s likely to have less impact.

“Nothing has come back from the city on those, but we have made recommendations,” Deere said.  

“We do want this to move forward. We just don’t want it to move forward in the manner that we have.”

If there’s no movement from the City of Calgary, the group said that it will file an injunction with the Court of King’s Bench to try to stop the project.

Ward 1 Coun. Sonya Sharp said she believes the city should pause Stephen Avenue redevelopment work, at least through the summer months, until some of these things can be ironed out with area business owners.  She said what she’s heard today from local shops is a cause for concern.

“We also talk about priding ourselves on bringing more businesses or people downtown. This is our busiest time of year. Why would you want to close Stephen Avenue?” Sharp asked.

“Listen to the people that know this area best. That’s the business owners, and so listen to their solutions, bring them to the table. It comes back down to engagement and conversation.”

Ward 7 Coun. Terry Wong said that they’ve put questions forward to city administration to see if the schedule or construction approach is flexible.

“When we talk about the development of Stephen Avenue Mall, we talk about revitalizing as part of a downtown strategy,” he said.

“But revitalizing as a part of downtown strategy also means that we’re not taking away from what’s here today.”

Coun. Wong didn’t comment on this legal threat along with the Marda Loop proposed class action, as it distorts the outcome.

“What I will say, though, is that the City of Calgary and our development industry and our merchants and our community and our residents have to go through these projects as a journey together,” Wong said.

“We need to collaborate… so that we know every step of the way who’s doing what, why is it being done, and what the implications are.”