{"id":101943,"date":"2026-02-05T13:40:16","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T18:40:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/?p=101943"},"modified":"2026-02-05T13:40:16","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T18:40:16","slug":"historic-indigenous-investment-adds-momentum-to-edmonton-downtown-development","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/05\/historic-indigenous-investment-adds-momentum-to-edmonton-downtown-development\/","title":{"rendered":"Historic Indigenous Investment Adds Momentum to Edmonton Downtown Development"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By Chevi Rabbit, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Alberta Native News (ANNews) \u2013 Northern Ontario\u2019s Wiikwemkong First Nation has made a landmark investment in Edmonton\u2019s Ice District, purchasing the site of the cancelled Canadian Western Bank tower for $65.25 million. Located at 10308 103 St NW, the site is currently home to Connect Centre, a two-storey commercial complex completed in 2022 and anchored by Loblaws CityMarket, with tenants including CIBC, National Bank, and the Edmonton Oilers Official Team Store. A 16-storey office tower, originally planned for the site, was cancelled after Canadian Western Bank opted to relocate to Manulife Place. The Nation\u2019s purchase marks the first time Wiikwemkong First Nation has invested outside its traditional territory in Ontario. Edmonton\u2019s downtown has faced challenges in recent years, including higher office vacancy rates,&#8230; <\/p>\n<div class=\"pmpro\">\n<div class=\"pmpro_card pmpro_content_message\">\n<div class=\"pmpro_card_content\">This content is for Yearly Subscription, Yearly Subscription &#8211; Corporate, Print Subscription Only, and Canada Print and Online members only.<br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?action=register\">Register<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"pmpro_card_actions pmpro_font-medium\">Already a member? <a href=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Ftheturtleislandnews.com%2Findex.php%2F2026%2F02%2F05%2Fhistoric-indigenous-investment-adds-momentum-to-edmonton-downtown-development%2F\">Log in here<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Chevi Rabbit, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Alberta Native News (ANNews) \u2013 Northern Ontario\u2019s Wiikwemkong First Nation has made a landmark investment in Edmonton\u2019s Ice District, purchasing the site of the cancelled Canadian Western Bank tower for $65.25 million. Located at 10308 103 St NW, the site is currently home to Connect Centre, a two-storey commercial complex completed in 2022 and anchored by Loblaws CityMarket, with tenants including CIBC, National Bank, and the Edmonton Oilers Official Team Store. A 16-storey office tower, originally planned for the site, was cancelled after Canadian Western Bank opted to relocate to Manulife Place. The Nation\u2019s purchase marks the first time Wiikwemkong First Nation has invested outside its traditional territory in Ontario. Edmonton\u2019s downtown has faced challenges in recent years, including higher office vacancy rates,... <\/p>\n<div class=\"pmpro\"><div class=\"pmpro_card pmpro_content_message\"><div class=\"pmpro_card_content\">This content is for Yearly Subscription, Yearly Subscription - Corporate, Print Subscription Only, and Canada Print and Online members only.<br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?action=register\">Register<\/a><\/div><div class=\"pmpro_card_actions pmpro_font-medium\">Already a member? <a href=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Ftheturtleislandnews.com%2Findex.php%2F2026%2F02%2F05%2Fhistoric-indigenous-investment-adds-momentum-to-edmonton-downtown-development%2F\">Log in here<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"author":101363,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-101943","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-national-news","category-ticker","pmpro-level-required","pmpro-level-3","pmpro-level-2","pmpro-level-5","pmpro-level-4","pmpro-level-6","pmpro-level-7","pmpro-no-access"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Historic Indigenous Investment Adds Momentum to Edmonton Downtown Development - The Turtle Island News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/05\/historic-indigenous-investment-adds-momentum-to-edmonton-downtown-development\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Historic Indigenous Investment Adds Momentum to Edmonton Downtown Development - The Turtle Island News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Chevi Rabbit, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Alberta Native News (ANNews) \u2013 Northern Ontario\u2019s Wiikwemkong First Nation has made a landmark investment in Edmonton\u2019s Ice District, purchasing the site of the cancelled Canadian Western Bank tower for $65.25 million. Located at 10308 103 St NW, the site is currently home to Connect Centre, a two-storey commercial complex completed in 2022 and anchored by Loblaws CityMarket, with tenants including CIBC, National Bank, and the Edmonton Oilers Official Team Store. A 16-storey office tower, originally planned for the site, was cancelled after Canadian Western Bank opted to relocate to Manulife Place. The Nation\u2019s purchase marks the first time Wiikwemkong First Nation has invested outside its traditional territory in Ontario. Edmonton\u2019s downtown has faced challenges in recent years, including higher office vacancy rates,\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/05\/historic-indigenous-investment-adds-momentum-to-edmonton-downtown-development\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Turtle Island News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TurtleIslandNews\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-05T18:40:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/facebooklogo.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"725\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"483\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Lynda Powless\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@newsattheturtle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@newsattheturtle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Lynda Powless\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/05\\\/historic-indigenous-investment-adds-momentum-to-edmonton-downtown-development\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/05\\\/historic-indigenous-investment-adds-momentum-to-edmonton-downtown-development\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Lynda Powless\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7b188fd7503577895ef8b306988cd458\"},\"headline\":\"Historic Indigenous Investment Adds Momentum to Edmonton Downtown Development\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-05T18:40:16+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/05\\\/historic-indigenous-investment-adds-momentum-to-edmonton-downtown-development\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":690,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"National News\",\"ticker\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/05\\\/historic-indigenous-investment-adds-momentum-to-edmonton-downtown-development\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/05\\\/historic-indigenous-investment-adds-momentum-to-edmonton-downtown-development\\\/\",\"name\":\"Historic Indigenous Investment Adds Momentum to Edmonton Downtown Development - 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