Algonquin College at Centre of Pembroke’s Downtown Revitalization

Posted on Tuesday, September 9th, 2014

Rome wasn’t built in a day, and it will take time to bring Pembroke’s downtown fully back to life, but there are some very positive signs that things are changing in the city’s inner core. After years of struggling to compete with shopping malls and big box stores that attracted shoppers to the outskirts of the city, Pembroke’s downtown landed an anchor when Algonquin College committed to building a new Waterfront Campus near the city’s main street. Two years after the college opened, it is now obvious the campus is having an impact on generating new business opportunities in the historic downtown, an area that quite frankly needed a good dose of positive energy after some tough times.

Yes, there are still empty store fronts and buildings in disrepair, but for the first time in decades, people are paying attention to the downtown and the talk is moving from being negative to positive. The municipality has started repair work on streets and downtown bridges, new developers have purchased properties that had been neglected for many years and are working on sprucing them up, new businesses are opening, existing businesses are freshening up their facades, and entrepreneurs are focusing on students. The opening of a privately operated student residence in the former Lakeside Medical Clinic, a building that had sat empty for a couple of years, is a great example of the impact the new college is having in creating the right conditions for business growth in the downtown.

To get back to its glory days, Pembroke’s downtown still has a long way to go, but there is now hope that a revival is underway. Algonquin College is pleased to be part of the revitalization. Its new campus project was entitled Renaissance Square, the promise of a new beginning for the college and the downtown.

The changes that are taking place are more than baby steps. Positive change is happening. The new Algonquin Campus has proven to a be a catalyst for economic renewal and with college enrolments growing the potential for further investment in the downtown is encouraging.

What are your thoughts on the revitalization of Pembroke’s Downtown?

Posted by: Jamie Bramburger, Manager of Community and Student Affairs at Algonquin College’s Pembroke Campus

• Posted in