Urban Development and Proposals Discussion

[Chowda7]

Do parking lots have a future in Calgary's core? Yes … but perhaps not only for cars

With downtown Calgary parking lot demand at 70 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, officials ponder how to make the best use of excess space.

calgaryherald.com

 

[CBBarnett]

Wildwood isn't anything special, some new development in there would only help it!

It's a bit of sideshow, given how small Wildwood is and how it's in the corner of the Westbrook Local Area, surrounded by cliffs, Sarcee and Bow Trail.

The change that is causing all the concern in the neighbourhood isn't big towers or major apartment complexes, they are opposing townhomes and minor intensification like duplexes. Being on the edge of the action means change will likely be slow and limited in any scenario for Wildwood.

For some perspective - Wildwood has 63% of the population it did in the 1960s (from what's available from the City's previous censuses). How many more years does Wildwood School stay open if people don't have more kids and more families don't have options to live in the area?

You can't stop change by restricting development - all you will do is replace that $700K 1950s era bungalow with a $1.5M single family home and keep local populations far below the economic sustainability required to support basic services or retail.

 

[Surrealplaces]

Speaking of Westbrook...

Westbrook Local Area Plan gets initial green light from Calgary committee

No real need to read it... just some NIMBY (anti-density) uproar about lack of communication from the city.

Here's an article mentioning the nimby opposition. Just the usual nimby stuff.

Wildwood residents push back against Westbrook Local Area Plan

The Westbrook Local Area Plan lays out a 30-year vision for 10 communities in the southwest.

calgaryherald.com

 

[CalgaryTiger]

Do parking lots have a future in Calgary's core? Yes … but perhaps not only for cars

With downtown Calgary parking lot demand at 70 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, officials ponder how to make the best use of excess space.

calgaryherald.com

I'd like to see how usage changes on Saturday during the day versus Sunday. Because if the cost of parking really was the issue keeping people out of downtown, wouldn't it peak on Sundays? It probably does go up but not all that much.

Wong is so worried about losing parking that isn't even being used because it could be used by someone who won't come downtown unless parking is free. Oh wait, it already is free in the evenings and on Sundays. Where are the people from the Post media comment section survey on evenings and Sundays? They are not coming, you want a more vibrant downtown? The answer is getting more people to live downtown on these surface lots he so desperately wants to keep.

If we go along with Wong on his thought experiment, think about how those drivers that park and go to a business would actually interact with downtown. Wouldn't they do what they normally do in a strip mall, park close to their destination, visit it, get in their car and leave. They're not walking around, maybe going to other businesses, taking a moment to sit at a bench or visit with a friend they bump into. Who's doing that? People who take transit because they're forced to walk around a little bit, people who bike or scooter downtown, and people who live downtown.

Maybe I'm wrong, but the whole free parking bringing people downtown idea has been tried, it works a little, it just isn't answer to what ails downtown.

 

[YYCguy]

It really baffles me when people and community associations say there wasn’t enough/any communication. It just so happened this time the communication mostly happened virtually during the pandemic and if the people couldn’t bother to join in the conversation, that’s on them.

Also, it appears that Wildwood School is literally in the middle of their community, and probably serves a very important function aside from educating their children. It probably also serves as a community hub for them. If communities like this one would just look to other communities and see how opposition to modern updated plans just creates too expensive infill single housing and loss of schools/community programs due to slump in population, then hopefully they would sit up and take notice and WANT to participate in the conversation on how to make their own community better, sustainable, and more alive!

 

[IceCreamMan]

I am a member of the Westbrook LAP Committee and have been for three years, which was made up of 30+ community members, and I'm not sure how some can say no communication about this LAP took place. Given the amount of active communication the City did with signage, emails, websites, community notifications in the area, etc., routinely for several years in a row.... you'd have to have had your head in the damn sand to claim there was little or no communication, I was dumbfounded reading that article.

 

[Urban Outdoorsman]

I get the sense that anytime people are unhappy with this sort of thing their first reaction is to say they weren't consulted properly. When in actuality they were consulted, but because they didn't get their way clearly the city wasn't listening closely enough or something. I feel sorry for the LAP staff who are in charge of consultation, they must feel like there's really no way to win.

 

[JoeUrban]

I get the sense that anytime people are unhappy with this sort of thing their first reaction is to say they weren't consulted properly. When in actuality they were consulted, but because they didn't get their way clearly the city wasn't listening closely enough or something. I feel sorry for the LAP staff who are in charge of consultation, they must feel like there's really no way to win.

Either that or they paid no attention until some frantic posting goes up on Nextdoor

 

[Chinook Arch]

Either that or they paid no attention until some frantic posting goes up on Nextdoor

They probably missed some of the earlier Nextdoor postings when they got mix in with the hundreds of posts related to bobcat sightings.

 

[Chinook Arch]

Here's an article mentioning the nimby opposition. Just the usual nimby stuff.

Wildwood residents push back against Westbrook Local Area Plan

The Westbrook Local Area Plan lays out a 30-year vision for 10 communities in the southwest.

calgaryherald.com

I don’t think there is going to be a development anywhere in an established neighborhood that doesn’t get community association opposition

 

[CalgaryTiger]

Speaking of the Westbrook LRT land... An article in Livewire says:

"When we spoke with Matco, they said they weren’t ready to speak in detail about an upcoming phased development. They do expect a development permit application to come forward in 2023.

They did say, as they have since they purchased the land, that they’re committed to producing a high-quality, mixed-use development in the area. They did describe in some detail challenges around the economy, a pandemic-influenced stop to migration, and other macro-economic factors behind the delay."

Think of all the things and places that have been built since 2011 (when they got the land)... Oh well, least there's something coming, next year, maybe.

 

[Surrealplaces]

Calgary rental prices rise 22% in a year: National Rental Report

A new report released Tuesday confirmed what Calgary renters already know: the cost of renting an apartment in the city is skyrocketing.

calgary.ctvnews.ca

Calgary is apparently now the third most expensive city to rent in after Toronto and Vancouver.

Edit, it's actually the third highest increase after Tor and Van. The wording made it sound like the third most expensive, but is actually the 25th most expensive. Looking at the 25 markets ahead of Calgary, almost all are Southern Ontario GTA, or the coast. I wonder if this will spur on more purpose built rental, or more condo projects marketed to Ontarians.

September 2023 Rentals.ca Report

rentals.ca

 

[darwink]

Calgary rental prices rise 22% in a year: National Rental Report

A new report released Tuesday confirmed what Calgary renters already know: the cost of renting an apartment in the city is skyrocketing.

calgary.ctvnews.ca

Calgary is apparently now the third most expensive city to rent in after Toronto and Vancouver.

Edit, it's actually the third highest increase after Tor and Van. The wording made it sound like the third most expensive, but is actually the 25th most expensive. Looking at the 25 markets ahead of Calgary, almost all are Southern Ontario GTA, or the coast. I wonder if this will spur on more purpose built rental, or more condo projects marketed to Ontarians.

September 2023 Rentals.ca Report

rentals.ca

Very interested in the CMHC study. Two months now! The rent reports from firms promoting some service or another drawing data from extremely limited sources I’m not prepared to trust. If it’s accurate condo prices are going to have a mighty jump over the next 6 months.

 

[JonnyCanuck]

Calgary rental prices rise 22% in a year: National Rental Report

A new report released Tuesday confirmed what Calgary renters already know: the cost of renting an apartment in the city is skyrocketing.

calgary.ctvnews.ca

Calgary is apparently now the third most expensive city to rent in after Toronto and Vancouver.

Edit, it's actually the third highest increase after Tor and Van. The wording made it sound like the third most expensive, but is actually the 25th most expensive. Looking at the 25 markets ahead of Calgary, almost all are Southern Ontario GTA, or the coast. I wonder if this will spur on more purpose built rental, or more condo projects marketed to Ontarians.

September 2023 Rentals.ca Report

rentals.ca

There are plenty of apartments for rent in Calgary's core and a lot more under construction. This is not a supply issue in my mind. Most of the availability is in the newer, 'amenity rich' buildings that are all asking for above average rental prices. I would say that is where the increase in prices comparison is mostly coming from.

 

[CalgaryTiger]

This is not a supply issue in my mind.

I guess not a supply of all properties but a supply of reasonable properties. People can only spend so much, especially if they're being priced out of buying.