FCC1982
Active Member
So in a nutshell it comes down to money (just like everything else)
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Urban Development and Proposals Discussion
- Thread starter Surrealplaces
- Start date
Mountain Man
Senior Member
Isn't Rndsqr's office in that building? Great character building!
CBBarnett
Senior Member
As @Silence&Motion posted in the other thread, Marda Loop area is full of some weird stuff and loads of experimentation, good and bad. Clever ground-oriented intensification at true neighbourhood-changing volumes/scales, townhomes of all sorts of ages and styles, a whole lot of oversized and tacky infills. Much of the neighbourhood is caught between two worlds as it's pedestrian volumes have increase to be that of an urban place but the traffic signals and car-priority of a suburban place. Marda Loop area has got it all going on - its definitely at the vanguard as a test case of suburban to urban transition with the successes and failures everywhere.
One thing I like about this 16 St SW / Neighbour Coffee example is that it highlights is the attractiveness of an off-main street retail option. A quiet but connected street is actually hard to come-by in Calgary. 26 Ave SW, 19 Street NW in Hillhurst, 4 Street NW in Tuxedo, 1 Ave NE Bridgeland are other good examples. Sure there's traffic on each of these streets, but it's hardly overbearing as a pedestrian. Great for patios and street life.
Most of our best retail main streets streets still do double duty as car-oriented volume throughput sewers. Some of these are changing (slowly), some probably won't change short of of a cluster of pedestrian-oriented neighbourhoods seceding from Calgary and gaining local control over road design. Side street retail is additional amenity to the popular streets in conflict with traffic flow requirements - you can have bustling and loud vehicles on Main Street, but also have options for more intimate and quirky urban spaces, venues, patios and cafes.
Pockets of retail on secondary strips or retail baked within the neighbourhoods themselves should be encouraged. Very few neighbourhoods have the density and traffic to support walkable retail, but as they redevelop and intensify a few pockets could start emerging if we let them - individuals will decide whether they think a local-scale off-street business can make a go of it.
The impact of a small, local-scale business is minimal and often a net positive for a community. Lots of the nuisance regulations that restrict small scale developments like this are very outdated and can easily be mitigated by design and operations rather than land use. No parking lots, have quiet hours, and have a plan for garbage - if a business meets those plus the regular health code/insurance/washroom requirements - I don't really see what the harm would be if someone opened a bar on their front lawn if they want in the middle of a neighbourhood.
Silence&Motion
Senior Member
Couldn't agree more. I actually think this is more common in Calgary than in other cities. It is perhaps a trade-off from our lack of main streets in the inner-city. Commercial buildings are sprinkled around various corners rather than clustered on a single street. Banff Trail/Capital Hill/Mount Pleasant in particular come to mind.
I'm not sure of the exact rules in Calgary or in other cities, but my guess is that most of the small scale commercial buildings embedded in residential areas predate zoning laws and are now technically illegal. And since owners cannot modify or redevelop their commercial uses, they either have the leave them as they are, or redevelop them into houses. This was the sad fate of the De Grassi Grocery in Toronto, the inspiration for one of Canada's most successful entertainment franchises. To me, it represented everything that was wonderful about inner-city living: having a hidden little grocery tucked away on a side street that only locals could find. However, some time in the early-aughts it was redeveloped into the tackiest EIFS-clad house imaginable. A real tragedy. All the more reason to be hopeful about the possibility that zoning rules will be relaxed and we'll get some new embedded commercial buildings.
artvandelay
Active Member
It's a nice little development (although I'm not a fan of the cornices). The only issue I have with it is the dumb city-mandated 3m front setback.
adamyyc
Active Member
I also think there are great opportunities to improve established commercial areas in some inner city communities. Redevelop some of the outdated commercial properties with parking lots out front with mixed-use developments with limited parking. I can think of a few examples in Altadore, such as where Monogram/Pegasus are or where My Favourite Ice Cream/Garrison Pub are. The challenge is that these are well established, popular businesses, but their locations have such inefficient land use.
realz
New Member
YES! The Monogram/Pegasus strip mall would be ideal for a new mixed use project. If the RNDSQR project makes sense as strictly commercial, maybe some tight CRUs could work at this spot too. Altadore residents have raised a stink about additional density in recent years
Silence&Motion
Senior Member
TBH, I'd rather have houses ripped down and replaced with mixed-use projects. I'm not crazy about the idea of displacing local businesses/organizations just because their buildings are a little out of date. Those mini-parking lots in front of Pegasus, Garrison Pub, etc. actually have some potential for expanded patios and pop-up events. In fact, Garrison has turned its parking spots into a patio. I'm still somewhat heartbroken that Voltage Garage art studio was driven out of Marda Loop, even though the old mechanic shop it occupied wasn't the most efficient use of space and has now been replaced by a mid-rise mixed-use building. But none of the new businesses in that building compare to the art studio in terms of vibrancy and character. Just more nail salons and yoga studios.
FCC1982
Active Member
Agreed on the cornices - would look better without them.
darwink
Senior Member
Yes.
On review a few years ago, the allowance in general ended in the 40s when two departments of the city fought over two lots allowing retail at the Elbow Drive, Riverdale, Lansdowne Ave intersection, across the river from the streetcar loop, eventually leading to the rejection of retail as one department baked in 'residential only' via a restrictive covenant that CPC didn't make the effort to figure out how to remove.
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MichaelS
Senior Member
Not related to a specific project, but next Monday's Infrastructure and Planning Committee will be discussing the next round of New Community Business Cases. 19 business cases were submitted by developers, with administration recommending approval of 5, and 3 "maybes". The summary memo can be seen here:
There is a lot of information related to this item, so better to just post the entire agenda. It is the only one on the agenda, item 7.1:
As a summary, 2018 was the first year this process was used at The City. 15 business cases were submitted, and 14 were approved (with a recommendation to only approve 8 I think). The next round, in 2020, had 12 submissions (I think) and zero got approved. We will see how it plays out this year.
There is a lot of information related to this item, so better to just post the entire agenda. It is the only one on the agenda, item 7.1:
As a summary, 2018 was the first year this process was used at The City. 15 business cases were submitted, and 14 were approved (with a recommendation to only approve 8 I think). The next round, in 2020, had 12 submissions (I think) and zero got approved. We will see how it plays out this year.
Agree about those cornices. Could have easily been something like this development by Certus.
Roaring Flames
Senior Member
Yikes! What the hell CMLC!
MichaelS
Senior Member
That's too bad. I have been waiting to see if they post the updated plans on dmap, but it is still the set from December 2021 in the link (as of this afternoon).
Nimbus
Active Member
They are so bad at this stuff it's comical.