West District: An urban village in the 'burbs!
By Richard White, November 29, 2014
West District is a proposed new MAC (Major Activity Center) community on a 96-acre site that straddles the southwest communities of West Springs and Cougar Ridge by Truman Developments. The boundaries are north of 9th Ave., west of 77th Street, east of 85th Street and south of Old Coach Banff Road in the southwest.
A MAC is a term from the City of Calgary’s Municipal Development Plan to describe an “urban centre for a sub-region of the city, which provides opportunities for people to work, live, shop, recreate, be entertained and meet their daily needs.”
West District is a unique infill MAC community, as the land surrounding it has already been developed for several years. Most new MACs are at the edge of the city with no surrounding communities. As a result, Truman Development’s team of planners and urban designers have been able to respond to what currently exists, as well as what is missing for the West Springs and Cougar Ridge to become a vibrant live work play community.
They were also able to respond to the City’s guidelines for creating successful MACs, which were not in place or not possible given most of the previous developments in West Springs and Cougar Ridge were on small parcels of land with fragmented ownership making master-planning impossible.
Over the past year, Truman Development has embraced the City’s vision of creating a vibrant new mixed-use, mixed-density communities in consultation with the community.
This image illustrates how West District (the block of land in the middle of the image) is surrounding by low density development. West District is essentially a mega infill project. The concentration of trees in the middle will become part of the new communities Central Park.
Community Engagement
One of the first things Truman did right was to engage the existing community from the start, not after they had developed a comprehensive plan. Rather than the old open house format where developers would present their vision after it was completed and then defend it when the individuals in the community raised questions and concerns.
They decided to open what they called the EngageHub in the spring of 2014, a purpose built 2,000 square foot building where people could visit, learn more and weigh in on some of the ideas being considered for West District. Since opening, the EngageHub has been open to the community 130+ hours (weekdays, weekends and evenings) for people to drop-in to see how the West District plans were evolving based on community input.
The pretty little EngageHub looks like a cafe. In reality it is the an open meeting place where the developers and the community can meet and discuss ideas, options and issues that will create a vibrant urban village that will be a win for the community, developer and the City.
The EngageHub is full of books that people can read and get ideas from about what they would like to see in an urban village. For me urban development and placemaking is an art not a science.
Density Dilemma
As with almost every new development in Calgary the biggest issue is always density. Too often the developer is put in an awkward situation as the City is demanding more density, but the existing community doesn’t want it.
For example, West District’s density is envisioned to be 36 units/acre, which is 10 times the current density of the surrounding developments. However, when you average the density of the existing communities with the addition of West District the overall MAC density would be 5.3 units/acre, which is less than the City’s current goal of 8 units/acre for new communities and not that different from the 3.1 units/acre that currently exists.
Too often the public hears the term density and immediately thinks 20 storey highrise condos, but in fact the density for West District and other proposed MACs will be achieved with a mix of single-family, town/row housing and some low and mid-rise condo bulidings. This allows for a diversity of housing options that will be attractive and affordable for first homebuyers, families, empty nesters and seniors housing.
Indeed, vibrant communities include people of all ages and backgrounds. Truman Developments is Attainable Homes Calgary’s biggest multi-family partner and they are keen to see a healthy mix of market housing with some more affordable units in West District.
This is an example of the scale of the proposed condos with ground floor retail. You can also begin to see the wide pedestrian friendly sidewalks and clear cross walks.
Central Park
Over the past seven months of community engagement one of the things Truman heard loud and clear was the need for a park to serve both existing and new residents. One of the community’s desires was to retain many of the existing and beloved Aspen Tree groves. As a result, the design team has developed large central park that balances passive natural areas with programmable activity areas, which will allow for year-round use.
Traffic / Transit
Another key issue for existing residents when new developments are planned is the ability of roads and transit to handle the increased traffic. While the West Leg of the LRT does provide improved transit service to the Calgary’s west-side communities, it is unfortunate that is it is surrounded by low-density communities rather than something like a West District.
To capitalize on the City’s 1.4B investment in the West LRT, Truman Development is proposing a developer-funded express bus between West District and the 69th Street LRT Station, about four kilometers away. Kudos to Truman Development for taking this innovative initiative.
Cost Effective Development
West District is an infill development and as such the area has already been serviced to urban standards for water and sewer, which means no addition costs for new infrastructure. There is also a good network of existing major and arterial roads that will be further upgraded with the completion of the west leg of Stoney Trail.
In addition, West District will add an estimated $550M in new residential and business taxes over the next 50 years, which is significantly more than the $130M that would be generated by a typical low density suburban development. The additional half billions dollars can be used for new or enhanced parks, recreation centres, as wells as new buses or roads across the city – everyone benefits from mega infill developments like West District.
One of the barriers to creating new urban villages in established neighbourhoods, especially on the west side of the city is the fragmented ownership. It becomes very difficult to assembly the large tract of land needed to develop an integrated plan of mixed-uses. The opportunity to create a new community like West District on the city's west side is very limited.
West District calls for low density residential on the south side next to single family homes, with low-rise condos and offices on the north side with a traditional grid street pattern which will server to create the Kensington-like community.
NUVO Kensington
In many ways, West District is like building a new Kensington community on the west side of the city. In fact, the new condos in Kensington - Pixel, St. John’s, Lido and VEN – are very similar to what is being proposed for West District. There are also similarities between West District’s Central Park and Riley Park and West District’s main street and the mix of shops along Kensington Road and 10th Street.
While it might take a few years for West District to have the urban patina of Kensington, the goal is to create a community that has a wonderful outdoor culture of patios, parks and pedestrians. (there are not pedestrians in this photo as it was taken very early on summer morning.)
Last Word
One of the criticisms I often hear from new comers to Calgary, especially those from major urban centres is we don’t have enough walkable urban communities like Kensington, Beltline or Inglewood.
No plan is perfect, however, I am thinking the City should be fast tracking the approval of West District if we are serious about providing attractive, affordable and accessible housing for both existing and new Calgarians.
By Richard White, October 27, 2014
West District At A Glance
- 7,000 residents
- 3,500 dwelling units
- 20% detached/attached homes
- 80% 4 to 8 floor condos
- 10 acres of park space
- 500,000 sq. ft. or retail (small scale with urban grocery as anchor)
- 1.2 million sq. ft. of (office, medical, satellite education)
- 5,200 workers
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