A heartfelt goodbye to Eau Claire Market and all it could have been

After years of being on life support, the plug has finally been pulled on Eau Claire Market. It's closing on May 31 to make room for the Green Line LRT. As the mall enters its final days, Calgary is preparing for the loss of a notable landmark that never really lived up to what it was promised to be.Standing deserted in the downtown core, right next to the Bow river, is a place of purgatory.

Once home to various local businesses, Eau Claire Market now houses empty shops and shuttered spaces. "In the '90s, city council of the day was talking about the need for a farmers' market in the core, and they were admiring markets in Ottawa and certainly Vancouver, and other places in the world." Because of the creation of a new building, as opposed to repurposing the 1940s-era bus barns, Farrell says rent was too high for businesses and farmers. Plus, the downtown core lacked residential density in the early days of Eau Claire Market, meaning a lack of vibrancy in the downtown area after 6 p.m. and on weekends."It was an interesting experiment that didn't work out … It started failing because there just wasn't the critical mass around it to keep it going.

'I'm finally getting the closure that I need from this building being shut down, so we can move on to what's exciting about the future,' said magician James Jordan. The theatre had also built a long-standing relationship with the Calgary International Film Festival , which would hit Eau Claire every fall. Whetham says CIFF will be moving to Chinook Mall's theatre, which he hopes will also attract a new crowd to the film festival.

The idea that new developments will be able to breathe life back into the area seems to be fuelling a sense of optimism that hasn't been felt in decades.

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