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Urban Development and Proposals Discussion

F

All fair points, but if you think about being within walking distance of pretty much everything inner city, this ticks all the boxes. Right on the LRT, a block to Stephen Ave or Chinatown, a short walk to Eau Claire and the riverfront pathways, even Beltline and Saddledome are a comfortable walk.

I think the biggest challenge with converting that particular building to residential is the 60 storey tower immediately across the lane that will block most of your sunlight...
City living means a blockage of sunlight in all honesty. Any city in the world has that problem. At least Calgary is always sunny unlike most Global Cities.
 
https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1vsowd8vA-5Wb_yQzPqjtWlncfSrr3Tc&usp=sharing

I've made a map of the current, future, and potential future development nodes in the city. I've defined "node" as a cluster of apartment-style (non-grade oriented) development that has the potential to encourage more development in the larger area surrounding it. I didn't include places like Glenmore Landing because they're kind of secluded from the surrounding communities and don't have that much potential for encouraging more development.

Thoughts on *Potential* Future Development Nodes (No current active proposals)
A lot of my chosen locations for "future development nodes" are based on what is happening right now in Toronto, where large malls and greyfield shopping centres are being bought by developers and converted into housing, especially those along transit lines. We can see this to a lesser extent in Calgary with proposals like Midtown and Northland Mall.

Interesting possibilities to note would be a redevelopment of Anderson Station and Southcentre, which could be modelled off of a similar proposal in Scarborough. 30,000 Units spanning 70+ towers, just around a single mall.
Scarborough%2BCity%2BCentre.jpeg


Another would be the redevelopment of Highland Park, which was proposed some years ago but was struck down by the city. Maybe the greenline will make them reconsider. (With towers this time?)
1705114617166.png


Thoughts on Current/Future Development Nodes
Almost all of these nodes are on current or future LRT/BRT lines, with most of the outliers being in Downtown or surrounding suburbs. Though, there are some surprises. I don't think many people are aware of the Alpine Park Town Centre, or Belmont Station, or even the extent of the urbanism at Livingston. While these are all suburbs being built on the outskirts of the city, many of them have, what I would call "good bones" for future development. This is a much appreciated deviation from the stucco suburbs of the 90s. Seton even has a gridiron layout in some parts. The most interesting thing, IMO, though, is that all of the new suburbs proposed these past 5 years or so are completely devoid of r-1 and r-2 zoning. Almost all are zoned as "r-g," which allows for rowhouses and multiplexes. This doesn't mean SFH won't be built, but it DOES mean they can be built on in the future with higher densities without the need of rezoning.

This also shows an interesting shift in what people want. Developers wouldn't build these suburbs with "town centers" and "main streets" if it wasn't profitable. I think there is a larger shift going on right now where younger people who are buying homes are choosing to live in places that are more densely developed and more walkable. This means that in the future, we might not have to worry as much about NIMBYS.

Alpine Park Renderings
1705115126010.png

1705115159135.png


Belmont Station Plan
1705115480054.png


Livingston Plan (Quite the strip of multifamily down Centre Street there)
1705117180982.png


Huxley, near Belvedere plan (Notice that it is zoned entirely r-g (rather than r-1), and is essentially half multi-family, with a main street.)
1705116626218.png


There's probably a lot more that can be said but this is just what I thought of off the top of my head.
 
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Thoughts on Current/Future Development Nodes
Almost all of these nodes are on current or future LRT/BRT lines, with most of the outliers being in Downtown or surrounding suburbs. Though, there are some surprises. I don't think many people are aware of the Alpine Park Town Centre, or Belmont Station, or even the extent of the urbanism at Livingston. While these are all suburbs being built on the outskirts of the city, many of them have, what I would call "good bones" for future development. This is a much appreciated deviation from the stucco suburbs of the 90s. Seton even has a gridiron layout in some parts. The most interesting thing, IMO, though, is that all of the new suburbs proposed these past 5 years or so are completely devoid of r-1 and r-2 zoning. Almost all are zoned as "r-g," which allows for rowhouses and multiplexes. This doesn't mean SFH won't be built, but it DOES mean they can be built on in the future with higher densities without the need of rezoning.

This also shows an interesting shift in what people want. Developers wouldn't build these suburbs with "town centers" and "main streets" if it wasn't profitable. I think there is a larger shift going on right now where younger people who are buying homes are choosing to live in places that are more densely developed and more walkable. This means that in the future, we might not have to worry as much about NIMBYS.

Alpine Park Renderings
View attachment 532956
View attachment 532957

You will also note that Alpine park is almost back to the old grid style developments of the past. I was fortunate enough to have been included in some of the early meetings for this community, and they wanted a main street with density and a grid like pattern. It will be apartment buildings on the main street with the second road out being row-housing then duplexes all the way back to single family homes. I wish it was more true to the grid but it is a start.
 
https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1vsowd8vA-5Wb_yQzPqjtWlncfSrr3Tc&usp=sharing

I've made a map of the current, future, and potential future development nodes in the city. I've defined "node" as a cluster of apartment-style (non-grade oriented) development that has the potential to encourage more development in the larger area surrounding it. I didn't include places like Glenmore Landing because they're kind of secluded from the surrounding communities and don't have that much potential for encouraging more development.

Thoughts on *Potential* Future Development Nodes (No current active proposals)
A lot of my chosen locations for "future development nodes" are based on what is happening right now in Toronto, where large malls and greyfield shopping centres are being bought by developers and converted into housing, especially those along transit lines. We can see this to a lesser extent in Calgary with proposals like Midtown and Northland Mall.

Interesting possibilities to note would be a redevelopment of Anderson Station and Southcentre, which could be modelled off of a similar proposal in Scarborough. 30,000 Units spanning 70+ towers, just around a single mall.
Scarborough%2BCity%2BCentre.jpeg


Another would be the redevelopment of Highland Park, which was proposed some years ago but was struck down by the city. Maybe the greenline will make them reconsider. (With towers this time?)
View attachment 532955

Thoughts on Current/Future Development Nodes
Almost all of these nodes are on current or future LRT/BRT lines, with most of the outliers being in Downtown or surrounding suburbs. Though, there are some surprises. I don't think many people are aware of the Alpine Park Town Centre, or Belmont Station, or even the extent of the urbanism at Livingston. While these are all suburbs being built on the outskirts of the city, many of them have, what I would call "good bones" for future development. This is a much appreciated deviation from the stucco suburbs of the 90s. Seton even has a gridiron layout in some parts. The most interesting thing, IMO, though, is that all of the new suburbs proposed these past 5 years or so are completely devoid of r-1 and r-2 zoning. Almost all are zoned as "r-g," which allows for rowhouses and multiplexes. This doesn't mean SFH won't be built, but it DOES mean they can be built on in the future with higher densities without the need of rezoning.

This also shows an interesting shift in what people want. Developers wouldn't build these suburbs with "town centers" and "main streets" if it wasn't profitable. I think there is a larger shift going on right now where younger people who are buying homes are choosing to live in places that are more densely developed and more walkable. This means that in the future, we might not have to worry as much about NIMBYS.

Alpine Park Renderings
View attachment 532956
View attachment 532957

Belmont Station Plan
View attachment 532958

Livingston Plan (Quite the strip of multifamily down Centre Street there)
View attachment 532970

Huxley, near Belvedere plan (Notice that it is zoned entirely r-g (rather than r-1), and is essentially half multi-family, with a main street.)
View attachment 532965

There's probably a lot more that can be said but this is just what I thought of off the top of my head.
Could include the Inglewood Brewery lands here too
 
Yep:
 
Has this one been mentioned yet? Proposed for the Riddell Kurczaba building at First and 11 SW (even though the address says 12 Ave 🤷🏻‍♂️)

4463C813-FD05-4E3E-8785-66A10DCCF72F.jpeg
 
Has this one been mentioned yet? Proposed for the Riddell Kurczaba building at First and 11 SW (even though the address says 12 Ave 🤷🏻‍♂️)

View attachment 533443
 
I would have expected some East Village projects other than EV606 to be moving ahead given the hot market. Any rumors?
Apparently One Properties has purchased the east half of Fram + Slokker's Verve site, with a rumour of a whack of units (600-800 if I recall correctly) in 2 towers, so each probably similar in size/height to Arris' taller tower. No application or renderings yet though. Also, I heard a rumour that Cidex had purchased the lot north of the NMC. And thirdly, there's a 4 tower project in the works on the block with the youth hostel on it, but not sure of the status of that one either.

Unfortunately EV is Ground Zero for the opioid/fentanyl and homelessness crises. I hear that is substantially affecting sale prices for condos there, which are anecdotally selling at prices well below similar units in Beltline and Eau Claire.
 

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