Calgary’s newest infill
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Infill Development Discussion
- Thread starter Surrealplaces
- Start date
Nimbus
Active Member
Illegal secondary suite, I'm reporting you to the city right now.
haltcatchfire
Senior Member
Can probably get $2100 a month.
By the time the bylaw officers get around to it, the chinook will have melted it!
haltcatchfire
Senior Member
So waterfront property then. $2400.
Alex_YYC
Senior Member
Infill project in Hillurst.
Kōsō
Active Member
Signs went up this week for land use redesignation - for the two single family homes and two duplexes remaining on this block.
these houses...
https://developmentmap.calgary.ca/?find=LOC2022-0219
these houses...
https://developmentmap.calgary.ca/?find=LOC2022-0219
CalgaryTiger
Senior Member
This area fascinates me, it has a little bit of everything: Residential, commercial, business, etc. But it's really quite isolated by Macleod and the train tracks.
ByeByeBaby
Active Member
Increase from 46 to 75 metre height; increase to 18,576 sq metres, mixed use with active commercial frontage -- this is a lot bigger than most infill!
1875
Senior Member
almost feels like they should put a c train stop there, would be a top 10 tod before its even built.
It's good to see higher density projects proposed in the area, but it's a shame we aren't seeing this on some of the large surface lots directly east of Chinook. Even if we could get a few developments built on land that's mostly wasted, it could kick start the area. The areas in red could be developed without losing too much parking (those the auto-centric that gripe about parking).
It would be be better to have a comprehensive overall plan, but I feel like it's never going to happen. It might be easier to convince the owners of the parking areas to sell off part of the lot, for development. If a few developments went up, it could be enough momentum to kickstart more developments.
It would be be better to have a comprehensive overall plan, but I feel like it's never going to happen. It might be easier to convince the owners of the parking areas to sell off part of the lot, for development. If a few developments went up, it could be enough momentum to kickstart more developments.
CalgaryTiger
Senior Member
Look at the collection of businesses in this area... Everything from a registry to a night club, to a car dealership, to a Christmas Store. Oh and don't forget a block of high rises across from single family homes.
City Planners need to study this area and some PHD needs to do their doctorate on it.
City Planners need to study this area and some PHD needs to do their doctorate on it.
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Platopos
Active Member
Chinook station would honestly function incredibly well as a full blown TOD. Would be reminiscent of some of the TOD clusters along line 2 in Toronto.
Every time I look at the area around Chinook Centre and Chinook Station, I can't help but do a face palm. It's a catastrophic waste of an opportunity, especially given how busy the mall is. It's the perfect place, to develop a 'Midtown' style TOD. So much un-realized potential.
CBBarnett
Senior Member
Every time I look at the area around Chinook Centre and Chinook Station, I can't help but do a face palm. It's a catastrophic waste of an opportunity, especially given how busy the mall is. It's the perfect place, to develop a 'Midtown' style TOD. So much un-realized potential.
It's such a weird area, particularly because it's not actually stagnant when you think about it. Sure, fancy Vancouver-style TOD projects haven't kicked off, nor has the LRT station seemed to play much of a role so far but the area is hardly quiet from a development standpoint. But the signs of demand and long-term, persistent growth pressures are everywhere.
First, it did better than most areas to concentrate that random suburban office market back in the 1980s. Even a handful of 5 - 10 storey buildings in quite bizarre compared to other suburban locations. Strange distribution and tragically uncoordinated public realm and sidewalks but materially more investment than most suburban areas.
Second, Chinook Centre is a beast. From 1953, 1995, 2006, 2021. 15 - 20 million visitors per year, over $1B in retail activity. A true anchor that continues to evolve and grow as the regional centre for Calgary. That's the fuel for much of the rest of the activity.
Finally, the whole areas circled in green has been steadily intensifying incrementally, including the not-insignificant non-profit towers in Manchester and the low/mid height residential of Windsor Park and Kingsland.
Also check out this building just north of Chinook, packed full of all sorts of services, including many that would happily be on a walkable main street in any other neighbourhood of the city (or if one existed here). While the building has absolutely horrible urban design, this is hardly the look of an unproductive, run-down 1980s office/retail strip that isn't being used and about to be redeveloped. Business is booming and no competing, better quality development has emerged in the area to compete with such buildings.
To me I think it's a combo of economics and lack of imagination that's holding the area back - the demand is clearly there for more stuff and density. The garbage public realm and auto-dominance limits creative thinking, combined with relatively great sales in these old, ugly buildings means the case for change isn't readily there to most land owners.
I think this will all change, slower than I would like given the land use and transportation policies in place (for example, it's wild that all this redevelopment pressure has occurred everywhere in the area, but the Meadowlark Park residential has remained unchanged in 50+ years from redevelopment). But the centrality of the area to the region and ever-increasing activity at the mall can't go unnoticed forever. Eventually towers will go up and (I hope) better pubic realm with it.