A proposed redevelopment plan for a small shopping centre in northwest Calgary could have huge implications for the surrounding neighborhoods.  

Stadium Shopping Centre, on Uxbridge Drive N.W., is near the Foothills Medical Centre, Alberta Children’s Hospital and University of Calgary and has several restaurants and businesses.

“The owners of the site are interested in redevelopment and what we’re trying to do is to come up with, working with the stake holders and community associations and representatives in the community to come up with, an appropriate concept for the area,” said Paul Donker, from the City Land Use Planning Department.

The project is still in the early stages but is set to involve a combination of residences and retail.

“This area is what we term a neighbourhood activity centre so what that really means is like a mixed use area where you’d like to see shops and opportunities to work, offices that type of thing, as well as residential development in a more compact form to create kind of like a centre for people that work in the area, people that live in the area and people that are studying, maybe, at the university,” said Donker.

The city is holding a number of public engagement events to get input from residents in the communities near the shopping centre.

“Once we have completed some of those engagement events and considered some previous guidance on the site, we will be developing a draft ERP which we intend to present at an open house in April,” said Donker.

There is concern from University Heights residents, who boarder the mall, about and increase in neighbourhood traffic with the redevelopment of the site.

“There is transportation analysis being done and not just looking at automobile movements but also how can we improve transit connections but also how can we improve pedestrian connections and bike connections. There’s a lot of people that work in that area so there may be opportunities to actually connect them better to the site,” said Donker.

A community forum is being held on Thursday night to discuss the redevelopment of the mall from 5:00 to 8:30 p.m. at University Elementary School.

The city is also hosting two public meetings next month.

For more information on the project, visit the City of Calgary website.