Urban Development and Proposals Discussion

[Alex_YYC]

I find that any colour of brick so long as it is a solid colour is generally timeless.
I might be biased, as I like bright colors, I think that they go well in the summer and they go well in the winter. Calgary. has far too much beige and brown which matches the colour of Dead grass and leafless trees in the winter.

Looks nice, but I'm really starting to get the feeling that white brick isn't going to be a design choice that this era is looked on fondly for in the future.

 

[Oddball]

Hahaha yeah. I have no idea how people could ever stomach to build a beige building in this city, sandstone excepted. The 6-8 months a year we get where the colour palette is somewhere on the beige-to-brown spectrum are more than sufficient. We also get a lot of white that time of year too though. I'll take snow over mud any day but isn't exactly like going for white is a adding a lot of diversity to the winter palette. This project seems nice enough, but there sure have been a lot of white ones to come down the pipe lately. I think it will become more noticeable as time goes on, I guess we'll see how it looks when it's all said an done. Maybe we'll love it and it'll become a defining aspect of our civic landscape, maybe we'll be deriding White-and-Beige-gary.



Aside: MOAR SANDSTONE PLZ!

 

[Nimbus]

8 units and only 3 parking stalls. I wonder if that will face an appeal, and how marketable 5 higher end townhomes will be without parking.

Not higher end townhomes here, the plan is for these to be moderate priced rental homes.

 

[Habanero]

Not higher end townhomes here, the plan is for these to be moderate priced rental homes.

Some new stock that's lower priced will be good for Sunnyside.

 

[Surrealplaces]

Saw this tweet from @wendy_waters earlier. Vacancy in new generation buildings is only 2.6%. I'm looking for clarification of the stats, but if true, that could explain 500 Block looking to go forward and all the other permits for PB rentals.

#Calgary #Beltline has seen a significant growth in PB apartment rental inventory since 2015. 820 units. All rented. In fact, 834 absorptions. Vacancy in new generation Beltline at 2.6% according to CMHC. #yyc

 

[Cowtown]

Well, that explains all the new rental tower proposals. Also great to see the beltline is lower than the rest of the city.

 

[UrbanWarrior]

Saw this tweet from @wendy_waters earlier. Vacancy in new generation buildings is only 2.6%. I'm looking for clarification of the stats, but if true, that could explain 500 Block looking to go forward and all the other permits for PB rentals.

Wow that's incredible. Great news

 

[Nimbus]

City of Calgary's 'well-loved' Stephen Avenue up for a facelift – and the options are endless (open liquor anyone?)

https://www.metronews.ca/news/calga...p-for-repair-and-the-options-are-endless.html

So what would you do?

 

[Mountain Man]

Close it to vehicle traffic 24/7, stop repaving the street with asphalt every time they do utility work and a few other cosmetic things. The street isn't in bad shape, just needs a touch up IMO. I'd also like to see them close Stephen Ave to bikes and put a bike lane on 9th, there are too many people for bikes to be really useful.

 

[MichaelS]

City of Calgary's 'well-loved' Stephen Avenue up for a facelift – and the options are endless (open liquor anyone?)

https://www.metronews.ca/news/calga...p-for-repair-and-the-options-are-endless.html

So what would you do?

Build the Red Line tunnel as part of the project?.... Otherwise, if this goes through, I think it is fair to say we are a few decades away from that happening.

 

[Mountain Man]

I think we are a few decades from that happening already. That tunnel will cost a couple billion dollars, and seeing how we can't completely build out the green line currently, there won't be money for this for probably 25 years minimum.

 

[darwink]

I think we are a few decades from that happening already. That tunnel will cost a couple billion dollars, and seeing how we can't completely build out the green line currently, there won't be money for this for probably 25 years minimum.

I think youre over estimating there. $200 million for each station (maybe a bit less due to lower weight limits on 8th Ave), $3-400 million for the tunnel no matter the number of stations is a fair guess. A consensus overestimate even super informally can chill construction.

Also, a lack of visibility on all the money being spent makes the Greenline and West LRT budgets seem more overwhelming to the wider project budget than it is:
Non-LRT network (not laying tracks) projects completed recently or on the go:

BRT Projects - $208M
CNG Bus Barn - $174M
LRT vehicle purchase 41 - $131M
4 Car Project including 30 LRVs - $300M
7 Ave refurbishment minus 4 Car incremental cost - $163M

A cool $976M.

You can get very close to the redline tunnel and finishing the greenline extensions at maybe a total of $2.5B in the later half of next decade, which isn't that far away, and will be in the next tranche of federal and provincial infrastructure funding.

 

[Calgcouver]

City of Calgary's 'well-loved' Stephen Avenue up for a facelift – and the options are endless (open liquor anyone?)

https://www.metronews.ca/news/calga...p-for-repair-and-the-options-are-endless.html

So what would you do?

This is a good opportunity to re-imagine Stephen Avenue as an even better and more vital street. I would love to see some of the office space and space above grade go residential/flex space as opposed to office, more like what you tend to see in Gastown. Adding diversity to the streetscape, activating laneways, creating better seating areas and places to hang out, letting patios spill out onto the street without clear delineation between the public and private realm would improve the street and make it more interesting block by block.

Here are a couple things I would like to see;

1) Similar materials and interface as Buchanan Street in Glasgow;

2) A mixture of low-cost parklets and seating areas to hang out;

3) Planting similar to new sections of the Riverwalk, or the Highline in New York;

4) Activate the laneways and alleys in a cheap and cost effective way wherever possible (similar to Melbourne's Little Streets and similar budding Vancouver projects). Let street art happen, and commission works if you need to, but keep it cheap and urban, not corporate;

 

[Mountain Man]

I think youre over estimating there. $200 million for each station (maybe a bit less due to lower weight limits on 8th Ave), $3-400 million for the tunnel no matter the number of stations is a fair guess. A consensus overestimate even super informally can chill construction.

Also, a lack of visibility on all the money being spent makes the Greenline and West LRT budgets seem more overwhelming to the wider project budget than it is:
Non-LRT network (not laying tracks) projects completed recently or on the go:

BRT Projects - $208M
CNG Bus Barn - $174M
LRT vehicle purchase 41 - $131M
4 Car Project including 30 LRVs - $300M
7 Ave refurbishment minus 4 Car incremental cost - $163M

A cool $976M.

You can get very close to the redline tunnel and finishing the greenline extensions at maybe a total of $2.5B in the later half of next decade, which isn't that far away, and will be in the next tranche of federal and provincial infrastructure funding.

Where are you getting these numbers?

I guess the biggest factor will be whether they cut and cover (will destroy business on Stephen Ave as they can't lose street frontage for a couple years) or Bore under the street (far more expensive).

 

[The Familia]

City of Calgary's 'well-loved' Stephen Avenue up for a facelift – and the options are endless (open liquor anyone?)

https://www.metronews.ca/news/calga...p-for-repair-and-the-options-are-endless.html

So what would you do?

Thank God! It is about time that Stephen Ave gets a much needed facelift. This is literally the main pedestrian street of the entire city and probably the largest tourist attraction. The street needs to reflect this, and right now, it doesn't. First issue is to completely repave the entire stretch. Currently it is a messy patchwork of broken bricks, poor asphalt repair jobs, concrete, granite tiles, and every other material you can think of. It looks like garbage to be honest. I would refinish the entire stretch in a very high quality stone, something similar to the angled paving stones used in the East Village/Riverwalk. I would have the sidewalks done in angled/skinny paving stones, and the street portion in cobblestone tiles like east Village. Solid paving really enhances the entire feel.
Second order of business is to redo all the furniture/streetlights/trees. New benches, proper tree wells with leafy trees, new LED streetlights, and a couple nice fountains/statues like in Europe would be fantastic. A beautiful fountain with tables and chairs in the middle of the street close to The Palace would be awesome. Also, someone needs to buy that white tin siding building and fix the façade.
Third would be to close down the street to vehicles. make it truly pedestrian (except to emergency vehicles and delivery truck after hours).
Fourth would be to allow alcohol along the entire stretch. make it like Europe where people can freely walk around with a drink. Plus keep enhancing the patios along the street.
Fifth would be to completely revamp Olympic Plaza to tie into the new Stephen Ave.