The city is considering a plan to expand a tax levy throughout most of downtown, instead of just in the area around a proposed downtown arena.

Over the last nine years, the city says the downtown core has seen a nearly 40 per cent drop in capital investment, and that's why officials are arguing now is the time to take action.

The idea of a Community Revitalization Levy was originally slated for the area around the proposed arena, but now the city wants to apply that same funding model to most of the city's core in order to finance a number of projects.

"Really, what this report is about is the entire downtown," said Gary Klassen, with the City of Edmonton. "If this area in the longer term is healthy, that's positive for the entire city."

The owner of a newly-opened cafe in downtown suggests the city's core could use a boost.

"After 5 o'clock it becomes a ghost town," said Poul Mark with Transcend Cafe.

The city's potential plan includes investing up to $366 million over the next two decades in everything from housing projects to streetscape upgrades, even River Valley promenades. And the goal being to drive new development, and with that comes new tax dollars.

But critics are skeptic.

"I laugh, I mean, why don't they make the whole city a CRL?" said Scott Hennig with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. "Taxpayers are going to be paying for these things one way or another... it's not free money."

But the owner of Transcend Cafe is optimistic there could be big changes downtown, which in turn could help his business.

"I have colleagues that have cafes in a downtown core, where they'll do 1,000 to 1,200 drinks a day. We're lucky if we do 250."

If the CRL is approved, one of the big benefits is that the city would not have to pay the province education taxes for the designated area, and that move is expected to rake in $240 million.

The city does say it's possible existing businesses within the proposed boundary could see tax hikes, but only if the CRL does what it's supposed to, which is raise property assessment values in the proposed area.

With files from Jessica Earle