The University of Calgary's West Campus Development Trust has big plans for land on the western edge of its site.
Those plans, unveiled this summer after neighbourhood consultation, call for 6,500 multi-family homes in an urban village concept to be developed on land north of 16th Avenue and east of Shaganappi Trail.
The project would also include roughly 2 million square feet of office space and 200,000 square feet of retail space within 15 minutes of Calgary's downtown.
While the trust wants to see development on the land, it's intending to lease the property for 99 years rather than sell it off.
The development lands encompass approximately 170 acres, stretching north to 32nd Avenue.
Residential neighbourhoods within the project are likely to have significant appeal for staff at two of the city's major employment clusters: the university itself and a large complex of health-care facilities and offices encompassing the Foothills Medical Centre just south of 16th Avenue. Foothills is the province's largest hospital. The project would also surround the Alberta Children's Hospital on three sides.
A separate developer is also poised to move forward in planning for the Stadium Shopping Centre project immediately north of Foothills Medical Centre on the north side of 16th Avenue. Western Securities owns the aging strip mall, which was developed in the 1960s on 6.1 acres. Calgary city council has approved a higher-density, mixed-use project that could include a major hotel.
"We are excited to be moving forward to the next stage of detailed development planning where we can use this blueprint to create a master plan for an innovative, dynamic area that will serve this area for years to come," said Mike Brescia, vice-president with Western Securities.
from Western Investor September 2013
