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Calgary City Council has tentatively approved most of the contentious Highland Park golf course redevelopment, but its final decision won't come until March 20 at the earliest. Vancouver-based developer Maple Projects Inc. put forward a development plan for the site in December 2014 and every aspect of the project has been in a state of flux in the months since. At issue is the loss of green space, potential environmental impacts, and the proposed density of the development. The developer has made several alterations to the plan in response to community feedback and Councillors, who were expected to make a decision on the land use amendment and outline plan application last July. That vote was deferred in order to gather more input and make further revisions, which Maple has done.
The 50-acre property that was previously home to the Highland Park golf course was purchased by Maple Projects Inc. in 2013. They are seeking permission to build a maximum of 2,070 units, which if constructed, would be within walking distance of a proposed stop on the new Green Line LRT. After Council deferred its decision in July, additional public engagement sessions were held. A number of revisions arose from these meetings.
Two 18-storey towers planned to back McKnight Boulevard NW have been substantially reduced to eight storeys. Proposals for buildings along Centre Street North had already been reduced in scale from 18 to 15 storeys following input received from a March open house. A single or pair of 12-storey buildings are envisioned for 40th Avenue NW, while the remainder of the property would host buildings ranging from four to eight storeys. The original plans had sought a whopping 46 buildings at four storeys across the site, but community concerns about the elimination of open space reduced the number of structures to 21. This increase of open space — now representing 29.4 percent of the site — translates to a built form that stretches up rather than out.
Area Councillor Sean Chu proposed several amendments, including a failed push to boost the percentage of underground or contained parking within each parcel from 50 percent to 85 percent. Council had some successes however in voting to require slope adaptive design, meaning that the topographical structure of the land will remain the same, rather than carting in fill to alter the landscape. In the end, Council approved most of the development, having approved first and second readings on some of the bylaws needed to move forward. But the central portion where a large public space is planned will need to undergo more scrutiny. Third and final readings of the bylaws will be considered at the March 20 meeting.
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