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Urban Development and Proposals Discussion

Calgcouver said:
I am of the opinion that Richard White has aged out of providing interesting commentary on city-building, at least in my opinion over the last number of things I have read from him. He is just such a booster of the status quo for Calgary (excessive automobility, sterility, etc.) and I just feel he's talking about a Calgary that may have been interesting 15-20 years ago. I would prefer to see regular columns and material that are more forward-thinking regarding Calgary's changing urbanity that have a more critical lens of changes that we could make to improve the City, as opposed to just endless boosterism for the lackluster status quo that is routinely compromising in urban design and actual vibrancy.
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You're of the right opinion.
 
Calgcouver said:
I am of the opinion that Richard White has aged out of providing interesting commentary on city-building, at least in my opinion over the last number of things I have read from him. He is just such a booster of the status quo for Calgary (excessive automobility, sterility, etc.) and I just feel he's talking about a Calgary that may have been interesting 15-20 years ago. I would prefer to see regular columns and material that are more forward-thinking regarding Calgary's changing urbanity that have a more critical lens of changes that we could make to improve the City, as opposed to just endless boosterism for the lackluster status quo that is routinely compromising in urban design and actual vibrancy. I used to enjoy his writing more a number of years ago when he was making more interesting comparisons between Calgary and other places he had travelled, my two cents not trying to be harsh.

I just couldn't disagree more with his take-aways at this point. In his Copenhagen v. Calgary article he uses West Village Towers as a shining example of urbanity, talks about how Calgary doesn't have a problem with automobile-dependent sprawl and comes to this conclusion:
View attachment 388676

I can't think of a worse conclusion to draw than saying Calgary should not try to be more like a place like Copenhagen. The culture of excessive automobility, sprawl and a complete lack of paying attention to the details in terms of urban design is what Calgary should put the blinders on and continue to replicate? Why don't you learn from your experiences travelling and try to bring good ideas to Calgary to solve some of our problems that are not unique to us. He just is defending and boosting up the the largely indefensible status quo of development and urban design in Calgary and I don't find that interesting or thoughtful to read anymore.
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It shocks me that CBC/Herald gives so much space to White, considering that there are (many) other more informed voices on city building in Calgary that they could be amplifying. Unfortunately, White's work is entirely anecdotal without any evidence to ever support the arguments and claims being made. I mean....he once claimed in an article that Calgary has the most walkable city centre in the world....and that there isn't a more pedestrian friendly city in the world. Like....come on. It's one thing to be proud and a booster of your city, but we do ourselves no favours in improving the quality and livability of the city by sticking our heads in the sand.
 
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Disraeli said:
I'm not a fan of Richard White's hot-takes either, but at least he is not afraid about being passionate about this city as it is rather than the navel gazing, "if only Calgary was more like Vancouver" commentators that are out there.
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There are people with worse takes, but I find myself doing a lot of eye rolls whenever I read something of his.
I don’t have anything against him personally, but CBC and Herald need to get off their lazy stale asses and find somebody fresh.
 
Not sure if this counts as a development or an infill, but there is an *interesting* proposal for a mixed-use building in Marda Loop at 1934 34 Ave SW. Architecture's pretty ugly. Doesn't look like the developer has any experience doing anything like this. Nonetheless, if I'm interpreting the application properly, they are proposing 8(!) retail units, two residential units, and artist studio space.

Proposal:
1934_34AVESW_2.jpg


What is there currently:
1934_34AVESW.jpg


Relatedly, the two houses just to the east of this property have been re-adapted into several retail units as part of the Shops at Avenue Thirty Four. It's a tremendously well done renovation that maintains the basic architecture of the houses, while putting in really fine-grained, human-scaled retail. There's patio with a wood burning fireplace that's always packed.
 
AJX said:
There are people with worse takes, but I find myself doing a lot of eye rolls whenever I read something of his.
I don’t have anything against him personally, but CBC and Herald need to get off their lazy stale asses and find somebody fresh.
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The Sprawl does a much better job of urban commentary than the Herald or the CBC. Ximena González is a trained architect who does actual reporting rather than just writing blog-style articles about whatever idea happened to pop into her head that morning.
 
Silence&Motion said:
Not sure if this counts as a development or an infill, but there is an *interesting* proposal for a mixed-use building in Marda Loop at 1934 34 Ave SW. Architecture's pretty ugly. Doesn't look like the developer has any experience doing anything like this. Nonetheless, if I'm interpreting the application properly, they are proposing 8(!) retail units, two residential units, and artist studio space.

Relatedly, the two houses just to the east of this property have been re-adapted into several retail units as part of the Shops at Avenue Thirty Four. It's a tremendously well done renovation that maintains the basic architecture of the houses, while putting in really fine-grained, human-scaled retail. There's patio with a wood burning fireplace that's always packed.
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That's a really weird/interesting one - the clock thing is super weird, the parcel is just slightly off the terminating vista of 19 Street right there. So it's *almost* in a place where a clock or architectural flourish would make sense.

The plans also show a huge amount of exterior stair structures in the plan. Seems likely to be bizarre looking if it ends up being built as detailed here, but the uses seem very sensible. That's a lot of small/micro retail units on one parcel. Will help Marda Loop's strange double corridor of 33 / 34 Ave continue.
 
Silence&Motion said:
Not sure if this counts as a development or an infill, but there is an *interesting* proposal for a mixed-use building in Marda Loop at 1934 34 Ave SW. Architecture's pretty ugly. Doesn't look like the developer has any experience doing anything like this. Nonetheless, if I'm interpreting the application properly, they are proposing 8(!) retail units, two residential units, and artist studio space.

Proposal:
View attachment 390941

What is there currently:
View attachment 390942

Relatedly, the two houses just to the east of this property have been re-adapted into several retail units as part of the Shops at Avenue Thirty Four. It's a tremendously well done renovation that maintains the basic architecture of the houses, while putting in really fine-grained, human-scaled retail. There's patio with a wood burning fireplace that's always packed.
Click to expand...
The Shops at Avenue Thirty Four were were developed by Leonard Development Group, so I'm hoping that they will find a way to replicate that success here. I agree that architecture isn't great (looks like an old west saloon), but I'm cautiously optimistic given how great the Shops at Avenue Thirty Four turned out! They used quality materials and the design was thoughtful! Le Comptoir has quickly become a neighbourhood favourite!
 
adamyyc said:
The Shops at Avenue Thirty Four were were developed by Leonard Development Group, so I'm hoping that they will find a way to replicate that success here. I agree that architecture isn't great (looks like an old west saloon), but I'm cautiously optimistic given how great the Shops at Avenue Thirty Four turned out! They used quality materials and the design was thoughtful! Le Comptoir has quickly become a neighbourhood favourite!
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I didn't realize that this was the same developer as the one that did the neighbouring development ("The Shops"). If that's the case, then I have much more confidence in this project. All those external stairs look weird, but the Shops also has a lot of external walkways and stairs and it actually adds to the charm. The elevations on this stretch of 34 are challenging and it seems like they're trying to anticipate further changes to the sidewalks as part of the main streets project.
 
It's an usual proposal, but that's kinda what I like about it! I love that Mardaloop is becoming a sort of testing ground for new and creative building types and uses. I feel like it's been a good 60 years since a small scale retail project with residential above has been built in this city. Lots of examples of old 2 story buildings with retail and residential, but it's nice to see some new proposals to mix things up!

Hopefully they pull it off and it adds to the growing quirky and vibrant feel of Mardaloop
 
Urban Outdoorsman said:
It's an usual proposal, but that's kinda what I like about it! I love that Mardaloop is becoming a sort of testing ground for new and creative building types and uses. I feel like it's been a good 60 years since a small scale retail project with residential above has been built in this city. Lots of examples of old 2 story buildings with retail and residential, but it's nice to see some new proposals to mix things up!

Hopefully they pull it off and it adds to the growing quirky and vibrant feel of Mardaloop
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cough... cough..., oh. Excuse me. ;)
 
Silence&Motion said:
Not sure if this counts as a development or an infill, but there is an *interesting* proposal for a mixed-use building in Marda Loop at 1934 34 Ave SW. Architecture's pretty ugly. Doesn't look like the developer has any experience doing anything like this. Nonetheless, if I'm interpreting the application properly, they are proposing 8(!) retail units, two residential units, and artist studio space.

Proposal:
View attachment 390941

What is there currently:
View attachment 390942

Relatedly, the two houses just to the east of this property have been re-adapted into several retail units as part of the Shops at Avenue Thirty Four. It's a tremendously well done renovation that maintains the basic architecture of the houses, while putting in really fine-grained, human-scaled retail. There's patio with a wood burning fireplace that's always packed.
Click to expand...
Lose the clock And put windows there instead and I think it actually is a really good little development.
The clock on a huge piece of siding wall really brings down the design. I don’t even necessarily mind the clock if it was done properly, like the one they have at Maxwell Bates block.
 
Surrealplaces said:
Lose the clock And put windows there instead and I think it actually is a really good little development.
The clock on a huge piece of siding wall really brings down the design. I don’t even necessarily mind the clock if it was done properly, like the one they have at Maxwell Bates block.
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The clock may come in handy for time-travelling purposes though
 
Besides Sunalta Heghts, Hat 14th, Park Central. Are there any other towers getting built/ or soon to start getting built during the summer? I wonder if now that we are slowly exiting the pandemic, if construction will pick up.

I guess I just am inpatient to see more density and towers in the downtown area lol
 
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