During a regular Town of Coalhurst Council meeting held Sept. 17, Council began a discussion about establishing a core identity and aesthetic for public spaces in Coalhurst. The goal was to establish “who Coalhurst is,” honouring the Town’s rich and storied history – while also providing a clear direction for future economic growth opportunities and community development.
On Oct. 15, Council endorsed a proposed concept – a modern approach to popular design from the 1930s – which stems from the period when Coalhurst was first a thriving town with a core business district, busy agricultural operations and a consistently growing population primarily drawn to the coal mining industry.
“In 1935, the Imperial Mine explosion occurred, which led to many residents dispersing to other parts of the province and country to find new forms of work. However, over the decades, the community began to grow again and since the 1980s has nearly doubled in size. In 2025, Coalhurst will celebrate 30 years since being redesignated as a ‘Town’ in Alberta and 112 years since it was first incorporated as a municipality,” notes the Town.
With these milestones in mind, Council has endorsed a plan to pay tribute to the pioneers of the community and introduce touches of 1930s architecture and design into public spaces such as town signage, wayfinding materials, park amenities such as lights and benches, public art projects and community garden designs. This approach will be introduced slowly and with careful consideration as projects arise (such as adding amenities to the new Wetlands Park or developing other park spaces) and as project budgets allow.
Over time, the intention is to develop a well-grounded, consistent approach to public space design and create areas of attraction for residents, visitors and residential or business investors to drive economic growth and development opportunities throughout the community.
Council has directed Administration to prepare a policy to guide this work and has also endorsed a project to have a new Town brand and website developed for Coalhurst.
This brand will include the development of a new logo, tagline, potential new colours, fonts and brand voice for the community, outlining how the Town approaches all its communications and how it will present itself on the Alberta, Canada and global stages. Once complete, the new brand will guide the development of a redesigned Town website that will be created to be more robust, user-friendly and accessible.
When the branding project begins, the Town will be conducting public engagement to ensure the finalized brand appropriately represents the community’s values and vision for Coalhurst’s future, while still honouring the Town’s past and who they’ve become together.
Funding options for the branding project and website will be discussed during Council’s budget deliberations, which will take place later this fall. Updates on the budget and these projects will be provided to the community once more information is available.
