Good inner city neighborhoods usually take decades to evolve, but Calgary's East Village seems to be doing it at warp speed. In 2005 the City of Calgary began to look at ways to revitalize the neighborhood, which at that time was mostly a collection of vacant lots. In 2007 the City formed CMLC (Calgary Municipal Land Corporation) with the intent of creating and managing a master plan for the neighborhood's redevelopment. In 2009, with the help of British architecture firm Broadway Malyan, CMLC unveiled the master plan and framework for East Village. A plan to add residential units to the neighborhood and revamp the public space along the Bow River.

East Village Skyline, image by Kevin Cappis

The neighborhood underwent some infrastructure upgrades, and in the summer of 2013 Fram Slokker's aptly named 'First' was the first development to start construction in East Village. It would be followed very shortly after with Embassy Bosa's Evolution, a two tower project right next door to First. Right after that in October of 2014 ground broke on the East Village Hilton Garden Inn.

View west towards downtown on 6th Ave SE, image by Kevin Cappis

In 2015, construction began on Calgary's New Central Library, a stunning world class building designed by Norway's Snøhetta. Around the same time, and just a stone's throw from the new library, construction started on Studio Bell, also known as Canada's National Music Centre. The momentum continued as the 167-unit N3 broke ground in 2015. N3 was noted for being the first high-rise development in Calgary to be built without underground parking.

Interior rendering of New Central Library, image via Snøhetta

All in all, six major projects broke ground in a two year time frame, East Village's revitalization well underway. Of those six projects, only the Central Library has yet to open, with the official opening coming this November.

Fram Slokker's Verve, image by Kevin Cappis

Fast Forward to 2018 and East Village's evolution continues, with another half dozen projects that are currently under construction. Fram Slokker's 288-unit, Verve (above) is topped out and nearing completion. Battistella's INK (below) is also topped out and nearing occupancy.

Battistella's INK, image by Kevin Cappis

Groupe Germain's ALT Hotel, notable for its modular construction is also close to opening. Across the street from ALT Hotel, XYZ's funky M2 Block has begun construction.

Groupe Germain's ALT Hotel, image by Kevin Cappis

M2 Block will provide more retail, including two more restaurants to East Village and sits right on the Riverwalk, a section of East Village which is fast becoming one of Calgary's most popular destination areas.

Construction start on M2 Block, image by Kevin Cappis

A couple of blocks to the west RioCan's 5th and Third is under construction and will feature a Loblaw's City Market, and a 24 hour Shoppers' Drug Mart. The Loblaw's will see the return of a grocery store to the neighborhood for the first time in 50 years.

RioCan's 5th and Third, image by Kevin Cappis

Also in the mix, is Cidex Group's The Hat, the 28-storey, 221-unit tower to add some much-needed rental units to the neighborhood.

The Hat, image by Kevin Cappis

While the rapid growth of East Village has been amazing, the evolution of East Village will continue as there are still more projects in the pipeline.

To keep up to date on what's happening in East Village, check out the associated Database files and Forum threads for discussion and photo updates, and as always, feel free to join the conversation in the comments section below.