Recently I wrote about how Calgarians love living on the edge of their downtown, with numerous new residential projects in the Beltline, Bridgeland, East Village, Sunalta and Kensington Village. One might even say City Centre residential development is booming or maybe blooming might be a better word. And with that comes many other improvements to make our City Centre a more attractive place to live and play.

"More residents results in more amenities, more amenities results in even more residents, which in turn creates more vitality."

These ladies are enjoying a picnic in the middle of Memorial Park with was renovated in 2009.

Food Hall Fun

The First Street Market, on the ground floor of the Underwood residential tower on 1st St at 14th Ave SW. Here nine Calgary foodies have come together in an open dining concept that will also include local beers and cocktails vendors. It will also include a patio with a view onto the busy Haultain Park and the Calgary skyline. The vendors include Saffron Street by chefs from Moti Mahal, Pigeonhole and Dandelion Café, Actually Pretty Good by Our Daily Brett Market & Café and Hi5 Burgers Shakes & Chicken.

First Street Market occupies a space between two residential towers with both a 1st Street SW and Haultain Park entrance.

Over in Bridgeland The General Block has been getting rave reviews not only for its unique architectural design, but also the fact it is home to three of Calgary’s most popular local food vendors - Village Ice Cream, Una Pizza and Phil & Sebastian Coffee.

The District at Beltline, is the new name for the old IBM campus at 2nd Street S.W. and 12th Avenue. Kasian Architecture has given the two building’s façade a funky look and is in the process of added 26,000 square feet of restaurant space at the ground level to give it a more pedestrian friendly feel.

The District converts a office campus into a mixed-use people place.

The restaurant spaces will be operated by a “Who’s Who” of Calgary chefs and divided into a food hall and market shed, which can be a bit confusing.

In the food hall, Duncan Ly will open Takori Asian fusion taco, Darren Maclean will open Greenfish Sushi, Arce Morales will open Ramen Shack, Stephen Deere is relocating Modern Burger from Stephen Avenue and Adam Ryan will open Shrub Bloom and Fire and Flora both vegan restaurants. Deville Coffee will open a large café facing 12th Avenue. And, the old walkway between the buildings has been closed in to become the Market Shed home to a new concept curated by PJ L’Heureux accompanied by a BC micro brewery.

FYI: There is even more good news – the 360,000 square feet of office space at The District is almost totally filled with only 41,000 square feet available.

In my opinion, a better name for the entire space would have been the Memorial Park Food Hall as it is across the street from Calgary’s oldest park.

Public Spaces

With more people living in Calgary’s City Center the demand for more public space also increases. In Bridgeland Riverside the transformation of the 4th Ave Flyover Park Playground has been amazing.

Flyover Park is Bridgeland/Riverside’s newest public space.

What was once an empty space next to Memorial Drive, Edmonton Trail and underneath the 4th Ave Flyover into downtown has become a funky place to play for Calgarians of all ages.

It features a tandem swing, twisty slide and bamboo stick forest climber for the kids.

It is has quickly become a community meeting place especially for the growing number of young families living in Bridgeland Riverside.

Similarly the Thompson Family Park on 16th Street S.W. and 14th Ave which opened a few years ago with its fun children’s playground, picnic tables and winter skating rink has become the go to public space for families living on the west side of the Beltline. Yes there are families living in Calgary’s City Centre. FYI: A second Beltline skating rink was added this past winter at the Barb Scott park.

Late last summer High Park opened at the top (6th floor) of the City Centre Parkade along 10th Avenue in the Beltline. It not only offers incredible views of the city but has a 200-meter boardwalk, colourful picnic tables and running track. It has hosted everything from weddings to birthday parties, from yoga classes to concerts and outdoor cinema events. The Parkade is also wrapped almost entirely in murals, making it one of the largest canvases in Canada.

While Lougheed House block with its beautiful Beaulieu Gardens and grassy areas has been around for over a hundred years, it has only been recently that this park space has been programmed with numerous community events including a winter bonspiel.

This summer the Lois Szabo Commons opened at 936 16th Avenue S.W. at the base The Royal condo tower. Szabo was one of the founders of the Calgary’s first gay club (Club Carousel) and an long-time advocate for Calgary’s LGBTQ community. This intimate urban space offers flexible seating for people watching, or to sit and have a coffee with friends, as well as a concrete ping pong table for those looking for a game.

Thomson Family Park includes a children’s playground, a summer dog park that converts to skating rink in the winter, fountains and picnic area. The Park opened in 2016.

Lois Szabo Commons the Beltline’s newest public space is at the entrance to The Royal condos a block from 17th Avenue and kitty corner to Caffe Beano one of Calgary’s iconic coffee houses.

In Sunnyside the Bow to Bluff project will add several new public spaces along the LRT tracks. Currently under construction.

Murals Everywhere

Over the past year, new murals are popping up everywhere in Calgary’s City Centre neighbourhoods. The most ambitious project is BUMP (Beltline Urban Mural Projects) which has expanded beyond the Beltline to create 20+ new murals this past summer. The 2021 BUMP festival included mural tours, graffiti jams, live music and outdoor cinema.

One of the more unique grassroots mural projects, Alley Art, is ongoing in Sunnyside and has now spread to other City Centre neighbourhoods. While the idea of garage doors as a canvas has been around for decades, it is only in the past few years that it has taken off to the point where Sunnyside has its own art crawl.

Today you can find murals in every City Centre neighbourhood – Chinatown, Beltline, Downtown core, West Downtown, East Village, Inglewood, Bridgeland/Riverside, Hillhurst/Sunnyside, Sunalta, Mission and even up in Crescent Heights.

Murals play a key role in making a neighbourhood a more attractive place to walk as they add colour, content and charm, where there was once just a blank wall.

Greater Downtown Boundaries Problem

The City of Calgary’s Greater downtown plan’s boundaries are restricted to the communities south of the Bow River and north of 17th Avenue SW., which unfortunately leaves out several important communities that should be part of any comprehensive planning for Calgary’s downtown core. If Calgary wants to create a vibrant downtown core, it will have to be attractive and connected to all of the communities within an easy walking, cycling, transit or drive.

Link: Calgary’s Greater Downtown Plan

Last Word

When historians look back at Calgary’s early 21st century urban development history, they will note how our City Centre evolved to become a more attractive place to live and play.

Hopefully the next step in our City Center’s evolution will be to make our downtown core a more attractive place to live and play. The plans are already in place – renovation of Glenbow, Arts Commons and Stephen Avenue Walk, as well as incentives for conversion of older office buildings to residential spaces.

Note: An edited version of this blog was published in the Calgary Herald’s New Homes + Condos section on September 4, 2021.

If you like this blog, you will like these links:

Calgary’s City Centre: One of North America’s Best

The Future of Calgary’s City Centre Is In The Hands of CMLC

Key To City Centre Vitality Is Attracting more Residents

Calgary’s City Centre aka Greater Downtown Is Blooming!