Currie: Canada Lands Creates A Unique Sense of Place!
Canada Lands Company has quietly been creating a new community called Currie just off of Crowchild Trail on the historic CFB Currie Barracks site near Mount Royal University and Lincoln Park office hub. Today it is home to almost 1,500 residents, with plans for it to grow to about 10,000 by 2030 as the economy allows.
While most Calgary developers talk about creating a “sense of community” or a “unique sense of place,” Canada Lands Company takes the concept of community building and placemaking to new level.
Colour In Currie Project
Perhaps the best example of community building was the “Colour In Currie” project. In March of 2020 when Covid-19 forced Calgarians into a lockdown and children couldn’t go to school or head to the playground, Canada Lands team noticed many kids out on their driveways and sidewalks making chalk drawings all spring and summer.
The team was so inspired they hire two up and coming artists Jarret Sitter and Nicole Wolf to help Currie families create a unique Chalk Art Installation called “Color In Currie”.
The project took place on the historic Parade Square (an historic military ceremonial site created in 1935) during the month of September as the kids went back to school and quickly became Calgary’s largest coloring page. The event was built around and respected COVID-19 guidelines so kids had ample room to interact and socially distance.
The result was 340 students and their families working together to colored in the asphalt mural created by Sitter and Wolf. There was even a coded message hidden in Morse Code for kids to decode. How cool is that?
Read to the end for the code’s message.
Unique Sense Of Place
Currie is no cookie-cutter new community. In fact, Canada Lands has preserved 11 provincially designated heritage buildings and sites and created numerous initiatives that celebrate the communities history as the Currie Barracks. The newest initiative is called “Letters Home,” which consists of plaques located on the Trasimene Heritage Walk that showcase personal stories and letters from Canadian servicepersons who served in four different military conflicts.
Private Alexander Decoteau, who was Canada’s first indigenous police officer before enlisting in Edmonton’s Sportsmen’s Battalion and being deployed to Belgium in the First World War.
Lieutenant Norma Stowe who was one of hundreds of Canadian women who traveled to South Africa to care for those injured in the Second World War.
Captain Vernon Cole who served in the Korean War, earning the Military Medal for courage, leadership and personal bravery.
Captain Nichola Goddard, who while serving in Afghanistan was the first Canadian woman to ever lead troops in combat.
Trasimene Heritage Walk is a provincially designated heritage landscape for its impressive row of trees that are more than 80 years old. It is named after a famous World War II battle that Canadian soldiers won near Lake Trasimeno in Tuscany, Italy. Today it is a dedicated pedestrian and cycling path.
While Currie is a new community, it has deep roots to the past, which Canada Lands is committed to preserving and celebrating.
Who is Canada Lands Company?
Canada Lands Company is a self-financing federal Crown corporation specializing in real estate development. The company reports to the Parliament of Canada through the Minister of Public Services and Procurement. Canada Lands Company also holds, invests in and manages world-renowned Canadian attractions such as the CN Tower and Downsview Park in Toronto, the Old Port of Montréal and the Montréal Science Centre. Since 1995, the Company has contributed more than $1 billion to the Government of Canada in the form of dividends, note repayments and income taxes paid.
Future Development
To date 650 new homes have been created, but the major development is yet to come. Canada Lands has entered into a joint venture agreement with Bosa (one of Canada’s leading multi-family home builders) to develop a walkable urban village for 6,000 people, anchored by a traditional main street.
In addition, Currie’s overall master plan calls for the development of 615,000 square feet of new institutional and office space, as well as 245,000 square feet of commercial and retail space to create a true mixed-use, mixed-housing 21st century urban village.
These projects are just waiting for Calgary’s economy to recover.
Newest Project
In the Fall of 2020 the original Officers’ Mess was transformed into the The Inn on Officers’ Garden. The Officer’s Mess has hosted many famous people including H.R.H. Princess Elizabeth and her husband H.R.H. The Duke of Edinburgh. Constructed along with the Officer’s Mess building in 1936, the formal gardens provided an elegant outdoor environment for the enjoyment of those dining at the Mess Hall. Rejuvenated in 2017, The Officer’s Mess Garden continues to provide to the public with a place of quiet contemplation and natural elegance.
The Inn offers 12 intimate rooms, as well as The Conservatory (breakfast and High Tea), while the Officer’s Pub offers lunch and dinner. Flanders Fine Foods offers not only lunch and dinner, but takeaway. In the summer enjoy a stroll in the gardens or in the winter stroll the Trasimene Heritage Walk with its majestic trees lit up for the season.
FYI: Please check with the Inn to find out what services are available due to COVID restrictions.
Current Home Builders
Statesman Homes
Slokker Homes
Last Word
Currie’s history dates to the mid-1930s when then prime minister Richard Bennett, whose riding included the Currie property, spearheaded the construction of Canadian Forces Base Currie. At the time, it was the largest public works project in Canada and provided employment for thousands of Calgarians.
Currie is a unique community in Calgary’s inner-city with one foot in the present and one in the past, as it marches into the future.
The Coded Message was: “Never Stop Being Creative”