When’s the last time you told someone you’d meet them on “Uptown 17th?”
Technically, that’s the name of the popular shopping and entertainment district best known as “17th Ave.”
To get with the times, the BRZ (Business Revitalization Zone) has undergone a rebranding and will now be known as the 17th Ave Retail & Entertainment District, or “Red” for short.
The new BRZ logo was unveiled Wednesday, Mar. 27, 2013 at 80th & Ivy restaurant.
The use of the colour red in the logo is a nod to The Red Mile, a nickname the area picked up during the Flames’ 2004 Stanley Cup run, when celebrants packed the bars and spilled out into the streets. The word “RED” also appears in the logo as an acronym for “retail-entertainment-district.”
The rebranding is an attempt to promote the area as a daytime shopping destination, as well as a nightlife district. “We wanted something that better reflected the retail mix,” said BRZ Executive Director Barb Stein.
Stein said feedback from the 17th Ave retailers and restaurant/bar owners has been “100% positive.”
“I think everybody was really ready for this. I think it’s a lot more reflective of who we are,” she said.
“I’ve traveled all over the world and when I’m representing the Avenue, no one knows us as ‘Uptown,’ they know us as ‘Red.'”
The 17th Avenue BRZ was established in 1984 and was the first BRZ in the city. Stein was also around for the area’s last branding back in 1996.
The new brand will be rolled out through the month of April, with new banners being installed and a public event on Saturday, April 20, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Tomkins Park that will feature shopping promotions and a chance to win one of 17 $100 shopping sprees.
The new BRZ website is 17thave.ca. Follow the BRZ on Twitter @17thavesw.