Britannia's 21st Century Transformation
Calgary’s urban transformation is not exclusive to the city centre. It is happening in many established communities as well. In fact, one of the more interesting places is along Elbow Drive on the boundary between Britannia and Windsor Park at 50th Avenue. (Did you know… 50th Ave SW was Calgary’s southern boundary from 1910 to 1956?)
There is speculation within the urban planning community and media that older wealthy communities are anti-development. Yet Britannia residents, with a median age of 46 years (the City’s is 36 years) and median household income of $227,000/year (the City’s is $81,000) have accepted three major new developments in recent years – Maison Senior Living, Britannia Crossing and The Windsor Block
The Windsor Block was just a big hole in the ground this summer - soon it will be a contemporary midrise office building.
Rendering of Windsor Block, designed by Ron Poon and the team at NORR architects in Calgary.
NORR Corner / Poon Place
Given all three projects have been designed by Calgary’s NORR Architects Engineers Planners, this corner could be nicknamed NORR Corner or perhaps Poon Place (Ron Poon served as the lead architect for all three).
Completed in fall 2013, the Maison Senior Living complex (70 units for individuals wanting assisted living or help with memory loss) is located on the northeast corner of Elbow Drive and 49th Ave SW. Bordered by a school to the east and residential to the south, Poon decided to utilize a flat roof and traditional materials to minimize shadowing and create an articulated façade to look like several different buildings, making it compatible with the school and homes.
Next came Britannia Crossing for Opus (completed in summer of 2014) a mixed-use building that includes medical, office, retail and restaurant space. This project required significant community engagement as it backed onto estate homes.
The solution was to terrace the building from five storeys at Elbow Drive to just two storeys next to the homes. Poon and his colleagues also incorporated wood and stone into the façade, reflecting the materials used for homes in the community. The block is anchored by the popular Brown’s Social House restaurant.
The third development Windsor Block, is currently under construction (completion in Fall of 2017). It is also five-storeys with retail at street level, offices on the upper floors and three townhomes on the southeast edge where the building intersects with other homes. This project, the most contemporary and colourful of the three, will include two public art features, giving the street it a more urban appearance.
Britannia Crossing by Opus.
Maison's facade has a variety of materials in warm colours, as well as seating and patios to create a pedestrian friendly sense of place.
Britannia Plaza
The popular Britannia neighbourhood-shopping plaza, which opened in the summer of 1953, was the first, purpose-built shopping centre in Calgary and literally adjacent to NORR Corner. In the 1950s,new suburbs at the edge of the City accelerated the transition from the traditional downtown shopping experience to suburban plazas. Post-war suburban consumerism in Calgary and the development of new roadways led to robust residential construction and retail plazas like Britannia.
The plaza is surrounded by condos and apartments with quaint names like California, Marlo and California Manor (the Calgary Golf & Country Club entrance is also at 50th Ave SW).
Michael Kehoe, Broker at Fairfield Commercial Real Estate cites “the charm of the Britannia Plaza is not only its simplicity, but that it is easily accessible by car, as well as by pedestrians. This retail gem enjoys high levels of occupancy and above-industry average sales. The key to Britannia Plaza’s enduring success is the adjacent affluent neighbourhoods that are amongst the highest income residential districts in Canada.”
There is one parcel of land left to develop which used to be a gas and serve station. It would be a great site for a mid-rise condo (with retail at grade) to add to the community’s diversity of uses and be an anchor for the City’s vision of 50th Avenue being transformed into people friendly urban corridor.
Surrounding the Britannia Plaza shopping block are these mid-century condos and apartments.
Last Word
The integration of old and new developments along Elbow Drive between 49th and 51st Avenues to create a mini urban village could easily serve as a model for redevelopment of several old commercial corners in established communities across Calgary.
The traditional linear Main Street with shops on both sides of the street will not always be the best solution or even practical for established community revitalization.
Editor's Note: An edited version of this blog appeared in the October 2016 edition of Condo Living magazine.
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