Lauren Kyle McDavid aims for mid-May opening of downtown’s Bar Trove

The Downtown Edmonton Business Association is hoping a new business from a high-profile Edmontonian will attract people back to the core.

Edmonton’s Downtown Business Association is hoping a new, high-profile business will draw more people to the city’s core.

And that high profile is elevated not only because it involves one of the city’s oldest, beloved commercial buildings, its well-known steward is Lauren Kyle McDavid.

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The designer and wife of Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid is creating unique destinations in downtown’s Canada Permanent building.

The 1910 landmark is being converted into a new bar, a furniture showroom and office space.

Puneeta McBryan, executive director of the Edmonton Downtown Business Association, said Thursday having a “big celebrity name” making such an investment in the core “is huge.”

“To see someone with Lauren’s vision and plans come in and make that investment and turn it into something that looks like it’s going to be absolutely spectacular, is really exciting for our downtown,” McBryan told CTV News Edmonton.

Kyle McDavid said Thursday the challenge in reimagining the building that will be home to Bar Trove, Trove Living and office space is making it feel new, while preserving the historic qualities of the building on 100 Street north of Jasper Avenue.

“There are hoops to go around with the historic committee, signage, putting in HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning),” Kyle McDavid told CTV News Edmonton.

“All of those are interesting hoops to run through, but really, the biggest thing for us is just keeping the historic feel while making it feel fresh and new.”

She said the idea behind remaking the space was to help create a destination to encourage people to visit the core.

“Downtown’s changed a lot in the past eight years since the rink (Rogers Place) was put in downtown, and I think the city is slowly but surely just trying to keep working on making it more of a hub and making it more of a walkable space, finding new locations that make it more walkable and more friendly and more of an enjoyable place for people who are visiting and experiencing Edmonton for the first time,” Kyle McDavid said.

“I think there’s been a lot of progress made, and we’re excited to continue with that progress.”

Kyle McDavid said she is hoping the venture will be open for business in mid-May.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Galen McDougall