I’ll bet not many Calgarians remember when the land occupied by Dalhousie Station shopping centre today used to be a trailer park. Yes, back in the early ‘90s, Safeway bought the land, developed a new trailer park for the residents (unlike how the City managed Midfield Mobile Home Park) and then in 1996, opened a new Safeway store to anchor the new shopping centre in anticipation of the extension of the NW Line of the LRT. (Note: Dalhousie LRT Station didn’t open until 2003.) Since then, the land around the station has gradually been redeveloped with new residential development surrounding the shopping centre and LRT Station.

This photo is from 1977 when Dalhousie Station was still a trailer park.

Not Ideal

Dalhousie Station is not an ideal TOD (transit-oriented development) village as the LRT runs down the middle of Crowchild Trail rather than through the community, resulting in a bit of a hike from the station to the shopping centre or to new residential developments. It also has surface parking, rather than underground parking with the retail, restaurants and services at grade and residential towers above.

However, this niche shopping center offers an attractive array of 39 shops and services including three anchors - Safeway (grocery store), Indigo (bookstore, with Starbucks café) and Earls restaurant. In addition, there are several other restaurants - Boston Pizza, Kinjo Sushi & Grill and Cuty Vietnamese Kitchen, fashion stores and various health services, as well as Pet Valu and an animal hospital. There is even a Memory Express store for your everyday electronic needs. These amenities are on par or perhaps even exceed those of East Village or University District.

Dalhousie Station is a late 20th century adaptation of the town centre, developed to meet the needs of a North American suburban automobile-oriented community. For local residents, it provides most of the everyday needs within easy walking, cycling, transit and driving distance. It is now in the process of slowly evolving into a 21st century urban village with incremental developments.

Catalyst For Residential Development

Gradually, new mid-rise residential development has begun to be built near the Station and shopping centre.

The Groves of Varsity, consists of three towers - The Monterey I (12-storeys), Monterey II (8 storeys) and Monterey III (12 storeys) - started in 2014 and completed in 2016. It also includes a professional building and The Manor Village at Varsity offering both independent and assisted living for seniors, as well as memory care.

There is a rooftop exercise room and an “Owner’s Lounge” in Monterey II offering spectacular mountain views. All within a short walk to the shopping center and LRT.

Recently, Remington Development Corporation announced it will be building the first of two towers, 15 and 13-storeys, that will ultimately create 451 new homes along Dalton Drive within walking distance of the shopping center and LRT Station. Interestingly, the Remington development will be replacing a cluster of older outdated townhomes, which is exactly what needs to happen and what the City expected would happen, i.e. as the low density housing stock became outdated, the economics and demand for larger concrete buildings made sense and Calgarians became more accustomed to using the LRT.

Dalhousie LRT Station with Groves At Varsity in the background.

Remington residential development currently under construction with Dalhousie Station in the background.

Last Word

Dalhousie, Brentwood, Banff Trail and Lions Park are excellent examples of how the land next to Calgary’s NW LRT stations is gradually being redeveloped to create more transit oriented, urban living options. These are excellent examples of how, City building, urban development and urban planning is constantly evolving to meet the demand of the market and new economic realities.

As the saying goes “Rome wasn’t built in a day!” The same holds true for Calgary.

Note: An edited version of this blog was published in the Calgary Herald’s New Condos section on Saturday, October 31st.

FYI: Don’t think Dalhousie Station has an urban vibe, check out the slideshow of the store widows below.