Squandering prime real estate in the heart of downtown, the Rossdale power plant presently sits without a purpose or a plan. It’s a dreary, vacant wasteland, closed off to the public, dotted with no trespassing signs.
But imagine, a sign that reads, No. 2 Pumping Station, with an image of steaming coffee drawn above it. Inside is a cafe where people cradle their coffees and watch swimmers delight in a distant hot spring located right on the River Valley. When you walk outside, you’ll pass a bistro on the right while a gondola hangs overhead. Skaters dance on the rink out front, while others head inside with towels under their arms, ready to go for their swims.
Obviously, this is not how the plant functions today. But it’s a glimpse of the building’s future potential. In an attempt to create a destination for tomorrow, a local intern-architect proposed blueprints of this community space. But he had a lot with which to contend.
Over the last year, debate erupted over whether or not the building should be torn down. The Rossdale ReGeneration Community Group (RRCG) – a body of artists, architects, politicians and other passionate citizens – formed to find solutions to preserve and re-use the plant. Some of its members represent large historical organizations as well, since the site was designated a provincial historic resource site in 2001.
And while the property is currently owned by EPCOR, the city – in an effort to resolve the issue – is eyeing to take the plant over. In late August, Edmonton City Council agreed to meet with interested parties and look at potential future plans for the plant.
One such plan already exists, however, and it turned many heads earlier this year.
Michael Zabinski, an Edmontonian who spent the last six years studying architecture at Halifax’s Dalhousie University, created the award-winning proposal. Zabinski graduated with his Master’s of Architecture in April after presenting his final thesis – a series of innovative designs reinventing Edmonton’s Rossdale power plant.