I want CBC to move from University Avenue to a new location in our downtown core. All the other major media players are here and contribute greatly to a growing sense of vitality in the downtown. By all accounts, CBC Charlottetown no longer requires the enormous property they now occupy. In recent years other CBC stations have recognized the importance of relocating to, or reinvesting in, central locations where they can physically participate in the community they serve so well on air.
CBC Charlottetown building on University Avenue
There has been a corporate-wide cost saving trend at the CBC towards leasing, rather owning the their buildings. The current CBC building is inaccessible on that lonely stretch of University Avenue, isolated across four lanes of busy traffic from the fast food joints and auto repair shops that line the strip. It is not a pedestrian friendly destination. As gregarious and likeable as their on-air hosts are, their physical location makes it difficult to fully engage with the community.
Downtown Charlottetown offers several large vacant properties that would suit the CBC’s purposes very well and situate CBC reporters close to Province House, City Hall, provincial and federal government buildings, theaters, major events, music venues and people. Imagine Mitch and Matt doing Island Morning in a storefront location like K-ROCK and OCEAN (they’re lucky to catch a ray of daylight from their current studio bunker). Picture yourself watching Bruce broadcast Compass live from a street front studio and Boomer reporting weather from the sidewalk! Imagine being able to walk in off the street for an impromptu chat with Karen on Mainstreet.
I think CBC would be such an exciting tenant to have in our downtown and would contribute enormously to our cultural and social fabric in a way that is not possible where they currently are. Islanders are dedicated listeners and viewers; CBC PEI consistently has ratings well above the national average. A move downtown would bring the CBC closer to the public, revitalize both the organization and our city, and create a fresh new relationship with our public broadcaster.
Continue reading below for examples of what CBC is doing in other cities, and that illustrate what is possible here.
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