Vision for Calgary's Downtown West development plan released
Plans to redesign Calgary's Downtown West were made public Monday, as part of an effort to create a stronger and more active city core.
The 78-page report lays out plans for the future of the area west of the downtown core near Millennium Park, stretching out toward 14 Street.
"I think we have a really great opportunity, and a limited opportunity if you will, to do the development of this area justice," Sarah Itani, with developer Cidex Group, said.
"It's not something that the development industry can do on its own, it's not something that the city can do by itself, we really need true, true collaboration.”
The report was prepared on behalf of the Calgary Downtown Association, Stantec’s Urban Places and the Kensington Business Improvement Association.
The prohibitive cost of remediation was a significant factor in ruling out a proposal to make Downtown West the site of a new arena for the Calgary Flames, along with other amenities including a field house for the city.
Intermittent monitoring by the province has found no significant threat to human health as long as the area remains undisturbed.
The report recommends three phases of work with the aim of establishing a strong sense of community and connection to the Bow River; public space destinations connected to trail and travel systems; link public spaces and close gap areas that have no clear use.
"The opportunity that Calgary has in the west end is significant and can be a monumental investment and re-intensification of the economics for downtown," Mark Garner with the Calgary Downtown Association said.
Garner says the city needs to do more to guide developers through the approval process and to speed up the time it takes to get shovels in the ground.
"There needs to be somebody that moves these projects through the city much faster," he said.
Delays in building mean added costs for builders, especially with interest rates rising. Those additional costs are eventually passed on to buyers and tenants.
"You're going to have to pay a higher rate for your condominium, or your rental fees on your unit," Garner said.
The report recommends several major projects, along with what it calls “quick wins" such as temporary dog parks or other public spaces.
Lastly, it recommends a series of other improvements, such as lighting and path connections.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING Latest updates on the major wildfires burning in Canada
The 2024 wildfire season has begun, and it's shaping up to follow last year's unprecedented destruction in kind, with thousands of square kilometres already consumed.
Veteran TSN sportscaster Darren Dutchyshen has died
Veteran TSN broadcaster Darren 'Dutch' Dutchyshen, one of Canada’s best-known sports journalists, has died. He was 57. His family says 'he passed as he was surrounded by his closest loved ones.'
Toronto man killed his mother and decapitated her — but it wasn't murder, lawyers argue
A ‘lifetime of abuse’ led Dallas Ly to snap and repeatedly stab his mother inside their Leslieville apartment in 2022 but he never intended to kill her, his defence lawyers argued during at his murder trial in Toronto on Thursday.
He had dreams of running for Canada in the Olympics, then he learned his family would be deported
A burgeoning track star says his dream of going to the Olympics is being derailed by a deportation order after Immigration officials rejected his family’s claim for asylum
Father charged with second-degree murder in daughter's stabbing death southwest of Montreal
A father has been charged with second-degree murder in the stabbing death of his 34-year-old daughter in southern Quebec.
Teen died from eating a spicy chip as part of social media challenge, autopsy report concludes
A medical examiner says a Massachusetts teen who participated in a spicy tortilla chip challenge died from ingesting a substance 'with a high capsaicin concentration.'
Kidnapped by her father and kept in a crawl space: Court documents reveal Montreal horror story
A Montreal father who kidnapped his daughter who has autism and lied to police when they asked where she was should serve three years in prison, a Crown prosecutor said.
Ontario calls on Toronto to drop 'disastrous' drug decriminalization request
The province’s health minister and solicitor general are urging Toronto to rescind its request to decriminalize simple possession of small amounts of drugs for personal use, calling the proposal 'misguided' and 'disastrous.'
Trudeau calls New Brunswick's Conservative government a 'disgrace' on women's rights
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau assailed New Brunswick's premier and other conservative leaders on Thursday, calling out the provincial government's position on abortion, LGBTQ youth and climate change.