The drive into town is slowly becoming more beautiful.
It鈥檚 not the mountains that are changing, rather it鈥檚 the face of the community.
Businesses are investing in a makeover, upgrading the look and feel of Connaught Drive.
If you make your way into Jasper from the east, there are noticeable changes taking place: the Crimson Jasper has renewed its image, adding a modern, sleek building to the streetscape. Robinsons Foods had a facelift in 2008, replacing its dated look with a clean, welcoming new building and the Servus Credit Union just completed its new home last year, adding a fresh face to a formerly rundown block.
But that鈥檚 not the end: there鈥檚 more development to come for Jasper鈥檚 main drag.
Diana Laarz and Ray Robinson have received approval to move forward with their plans to demolish the former home of Everything But鈥攏ext to the new Servus building鈥攖o replace it with a modern new building, complete with a courtyard and living wall.
And for the second time, Rob Olson has obtained conditional approval to rezone his two lots, adjacent to the Crimson Jasper, to develop a new apartment building.
All of these changes are making a positive impact on Jasper鈥檚 main street, improving the image we portray to our visitors and our residents.
With two fenced off, derelict vacant lots on Connaught Drive鈥攖he result of the closure of the Shell and Esso stations鈥攖he community can use all the help it can get to spruce up its image.
And, with all of the development taking place, it鈥檚 clear our business owners are taking that challenge seriously, investing their money in renovating and redeveloping to create a beautiful entrance into town.
That investment is more than a boost for their own businesses, it鈥檚 a boost for the community.
A clean, modern main street will leave a strong impression, especially for those repeat visitors who make the trek often. It shows progress and innovation and invites people to venture into businesses they may have otherwise ignored.
We commend Jasper鈥檚 businesses for investing in the community, and Parks Canada for approving these projects, allowing for a revival of Jasper鈥檚 main drag.
