Eau Claire Plaza billed as 'postcard location in downtown Calgary' ahead of reopening

Underground fog emitters and an urban beach are among the newest additions to the redesigned Eau Claire Plaza.

The downtown Calgary space will reopen to the public on Canada Day, with an official opening celebration scheduled for July 2 from noon to 2 p.m.

The Eau Claire Plaza aims to be "that iconic postcard location in downtown Calgary," said city project manager Dennis Hoffart, during a sneak peek of the redesigned space.

"It connects the urban fabric of downtown to the natural environment of the Bow River, and we see that collision of urban and nature throughout the space," he said.

It's a new design aiming to incorporate as many elements of the old plaza as possible, including keeping the iconic Olympic Arch and creating furniture using trees cut down during development of the new space.

The plaza's wading pool has been "reimagined" as a fog-emitting water feature, Hoffart said, calling it "a more modern interpretation of water play."

He said replacing the wading pool with fog emitters uses less water and comes with reduced maintenance and operation costs.

Also new is an urban beach with umbrellas and lounge chairs atop sand, which along with the water feature is designed to further connect the plaza to the Bow River with an urban-natural aesthetic.

The historic Eau Claire and Bow River Lumber Co. building has undergone restoration and is now back in the plaza after being relocated in 2021 to make way for construction.

A playground structure will be completed later this summer to replace the old one.

With the plaza meant to welcome locals and visitors year-round, accessibility was a driving factor behind the redesigned layout.

"We wanted to keep the area as flat as we possibly could to encourage accessibility and access in all directions, but we also wanted to create a sense of grandeur and a sense of awe," said Hoffart.

Plaza ready to welcome events

The redesigned Eau Claire Plaza is poised to be a significant event venue, with Mexifest and the Fiestaval Latin Festival among the prominent events set to be held at the plaza this July.

Mexifest, a Mexican cultural celebration, runs from July 4 to 6 at the redesigned space.

Mexifest organizer Christian Greiffenstein is looking forward to returning to Eau Claire Plaza, where the event was first hosted in 2018.

"We're going to be able to accommodate maybe twice as much people as we had before, so we're happy about that," he said, adding that the redesigned plaza offers more flexibility for event organizers.

The plaza renovation, which cost $47 million according to Hoffart, is part of the city's Eau Claire area improvement project, which has included redesigning Jaipur Bridge in 2022 and completing the Eau Claire Promenade and Downtown Flood Barrier in 2023.