West District | ?m | ?s | Truman

[trtcttc]

Awesome if this project happened!

From the land and design vision available, it will be a good opportunity for the City and YMCA to work through a more "urban format" recreation complex with a tighter footprint, more focused amenities and way less bloat that really negatively impacted the accessibility and cost of the mega-facilities of the 2000-2020 era.

The recreation centre here is using something closer to 1 hectare v. ~10 hectares of the previous era of projects. I am being generous by cutting out the related storm pond infrastructure that was also build as part of the Rockyridge YMCA as an example:
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Of course a 200,000+ sqft building will have more amenities in it than a 70,000 sqft building, however a return to more community-scale facilities is what the doctor needed here. Much of our failure to maintain or upgrade inner city recreation facilities the past 20 years, despite rapid growth, seemed to stem to a combination of suburban focus and inflexible facility standards that kept all efforts focused on major regional scale, multi-use, multi-sport mega complexes that required a ginormous amount of land. There didn't seem to be much of an appetite to try to figure out how to work in a land-constrained situation, or how we could upgrade or expand something like Eau Claire, Beltline, or Inglewood - instead the solution is to close "non-standard facilities" and just bolt on yet more stuff to MNP (as the inner city's mega-suburban-style recreation complex).

Of course, the great irony is that after 20 years where the obsession with suburban recreation centre design prevented renewal of inner city recreation facilities; the very first urban-format recreation facility may finally be built ... in the suburbs.

I don't think they need to be 200,000 sqft+, 70k is still pretty big. However, the inner city single aquatic facilities are more expensive to operate according the City's own GamePlan report, so I think we'll see more consolidation. I don't mind expanding MNP and closing smaller facilities if it's more efficient, but at this point, one rec centre for downtown is not enough. There should at least be something else on the west end

 

[CalgaryTiger]

I don't think they need to be 200,000 sqft+, 70k is still pretty big. However, the inner city single aquatic facilities are more expensive to operate according the City's own GamePlan report, so I think we'll see more consolidation. I don't mind expanding MNP and closing smaller facilities if it's more efficient, but at this point, one rec centre for downtown is not enough. There should at least be something else on the west end

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I'm going to hammer it into everyone's heads until it becomes reality. Combination, rec centre, elevated Green Line station and affordable residential on the site the City will need to buy in the NW corner of 1st Street SW and 10 Ave.

 

[IceCreamMan]

I don't think they need to be 200,000 sqft+, 70k is still pretty big. However, the inner city single aquatic facilities are more expensive to operate according the City's own GamePlan report, so I think we'll see more consolidation. I don't mind expanding MNP and closing smaller facilities if it's more efficient, but at this point, one rec centre for downtown is not enough. There should at least be something else on the west end

I've been advocating for years that the West Village location would be a terrific location for a multi-use recreation centre. Right on the Blue Line LRT and the BRT line, major road arteries N/S/W/E, the river pathway right there, and would service an area that is very underserved by a facility of this typology. When I was part of the Westbrook Local Growth Committee a couple years ago, I was trying to hammer home to people this idea; I was suggesting even in there the location kiddie corner to Shaganappi Point station (where Crown Park is now) would also be an excellent location for a multi-use recreation centre, and fit in with Calgary's recreation growth plans and TOD plans. Crown Park is off the table now, of course, but the West Village is prime and ready, IMO.

Of course, a handful of members in the group were against a west downtown rec centre (too bold and too scary!), but a majority of members and the City were 100% gung ho for it and loved the idea.

 

[Surrealplaces]

Loving the new supertall in the downtown skyline. Surprised I haven't seen it mentioned on the site.

I made mention of it back on April 1st

 

[trtcttc]

I've been advocating for years that the West Village location would be a terrific location for a multi-use recreation centre. Right on the Blue Line LRT and the BRT line, major road arteries N/S/W/E, the river pathway right there, and would service an area that is very underserved by a facility of this typology. When I was part of the Westbrook Local Growth Committee a couple years ago, I was trying to hammer home to people this idea; I was suggesting even in there the location kiddie corner to Shaganappi Point station (where Crown Park is now) would also be an excellent location for a multi-use recreation centre, and fit in with Calgary's recreation growth plans and TOD plans. Crown Park is off the table now, of course, but the West Village is prime and ready, IMO.

Of course, a handful of members in the group were against a west downtown rec centre (too bold and too scary!), but a majority of members and the City were 100% gung ho for it and loved the idea.

Truman is donating the land for the West District YMCA, because it helps bring up the value of their surrounding residential. Imagine if WVT, instead of that ugly, useless podium, it's a rec centre. City builds and operates, Cidex gifts them the space, raises the value of all the residential units above in perpetuity.