The City of Red Deer has turned a decommissioned transit bus into a “mobile real estate centre” for Capstone.
Rather than creating a bricks-and-mortar building, the Land and Economic Development team took an innovative approach to sharing the vision of the Capstone redevelopment by converting a decommissioned transit bus into a discovery centre.
The interior of the remodelled bus will allow visitors to experience an urban condo, a brew pub, a micro grocery store, and a mini park space. A 3-D model, depicting the community at full build-out, will be shown to orient visitors to Capstone’s design aesthetic.
The mobile centre is designed to engage Red Deerians and Central Albertans, showing how the riverside area can be transformed into “an urban village in the heart of downtown Red Deer.”
The Capstone Discovery Bus will travel throughout Red Deer to broaden interest in the project. Civic celebrations, festivals and cultural events will be regular stops when the bus isn’t at its main stop near Canada 150 Square in Capstone.
Mayor Ken Johnston said, “Having a community presentation centre that engages and educates the public is vital. The mobile centre will show “how the community will look and feel” and how it will meet the needs of its residents.
The vision for Capstone is a mixed use, multi-family community of 5,000 residents living in some 2,000 condominiums, apartments, and townhomes. Its location on the Red Deer River, west of the downtown, is considered a big selling point.
City Manager Tara Lodewyk said “The success of the Capstone redevelopment program underpins the future health and vitality of our downtown core.”
Red Deer is expected to grow by about 20,000 new residents over the next 10 to 12 years and accommodating some of this growth in Capstone will be good news for downtown businesses, she added. “We have planned for the highest and best use of the lands in Capstone to accommodate for our growth.”
The Capstone Discovery Bus is free of charge and is open 12 to 6 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays and on holiday Mondays. It can be followed at #liveincapstone.