“Festival Plaza is a long awaited venue that came with high expectations for the final product. EDS Group conducted a remarkable public engagement process to create a vibrant public plaza and gathering space that encapsulates the spirit of the community.

Throughout the engagement process, EDS Group actively sought input from diverse community organizations, as well as the community at large, ensuring that the voices of local residents and user groups resonated in the final design. Numerous in person engagement opportunities were provided, both group events and one on one meetings to ensure that all voices were heard and was conducted in a fashion that fully addressed all ideas and concerns. Significant time was spent with City staff to understand operational and maintenance concerns to ensure the future success of the space.

A significant emphasis was placed on incorporating local art and Indigenous components to create a space of beauty with a sense of belonging for everyone. EDS Group assisted the City in conducting a very successful art call that resulted in wonderful examples of public art that continues to be celebrated. Incorporating local Indigenous cultural was done thoughtfully, stemming from early engagement with a passionate representative from the local First Nation community. The resulting plaza is more than just a physical space; it serves as a dynamic venue that celebrates community bonds and creates lasting memories for all who gather there.”

– Jennifer Decker, City of Fort St. John

The inception of redeveloping McArthur Park in downtown Lac La Biche began with a conceptual design process and a community engagement program. The project since transformed into a $11M redevelopment project, creating an exceptional waterfront park experience for residents and tourists alike. The multi-faced project includes a renewed beach experience, a permanent pier extending over the Lake, a seasonal dock to provide access to the Park by water, paved trails, artistic and other site lighting, a new town square, amongst many other elements. Two of three phases of construction have been completed in 2023 and 2024, with the final phase to be completed in 2025.

Our team was honoured to be part of this exciting development in the heart of Nanaimo that aims to return a brownfield site to its pre-development state and protecting a significant natural wetland complex, balanced with new agricultural production and affordable housing units. Bringing this exciting project to realization was done through a comprehensive site evaluation, stakeholder charette process and numerous refinements during the development of a final concept plan. The site redevelopment strategy balances urban agriculture with natural area protection, giving future residents opportunities for a strong human-nature connection through food production, interpretation and direct recreational access to pristine natural features.

This $6.2M capital redevelopment plan began with a series of engagements with a range of local stakeholders, residents, and in-classroom activities with local students. The 40ha site, strategically located along the North Saskatchewan River, pays homage to our historical roots and celebrates the importance of the River to past generations of people. A range of new features were envisioned, a small selection including a new pollinator garden, paddling facility and boat launch on the River, naturalized interpretive areas and an outdoor classroom, passive recreational trails and a bird observation tower. The first of two phases has now been constructed, with the remainder of the site to be constructed once funding becomes available.

“We had a very difficult and sensitive conversation to have with our community regarding trails, dogs, cyclists, hikers and walkers in an Outdoor Enjoyment Strategy.  There was a genuine “ear” listening and hearing the community as would often provide a ‘what we heard report back to community’, an approach that EDS has always done without hesitation. Where we thought things were going, led to many different “rabbit holes”. EDS explored each of these rabbit holes with people that had strong opinions about certain topics of trails. They met community members with poise and allowed for fulsome discussion. EDS always took the personal approach by reaching out to individuals, small groups or communities. In person or by phone when and where possible. This created a strong sense of trust with the City, Consultant and community which is critical to any project’s success.”

-Scott Richter, City of Medicine Hat

Our team was excited for the opportunity to bring together nearly 20 local stakeholder groups, municipal staff and representatives from other levels of government to complete a new vision for Thunder Bay’s premiere inner-city regional park. This project created a modern vision for this historic park that balanced traditional values and the protection of legacy features with meeting the recreational, ecological and economic needs of the future. First created in 1914, this 650 acre park has numerous year-round recreational amenities and opportunities for a vast range of programming. The vision building process was a testament to the City’s dedication to public involvement, which aligned perfectly with Authenticcity’s mindset that we bring to projects like this.