• Like
Reactions: AJX
Surrealplaces said:
If the Stadium shopping centre had two or three good sized residential towers as well as plenty of shopping, combined with Banff Trail TOD development (with a few towers built up), I could see the possibility of a transit loop of some kind

University LRT <-> University <-> Hospital < -> Stadium shopping centre <-> Banff Trail LRT

Whether the loop is a bus, street car or elevated train, etc... depends, but between the University and the hospital there is a pretty substantial workforce.
Click to expand...
I feel like Market Mall and Children's Hospital has to be included as part of the route also since there is high density potential with the Market Mall area.
 
I'm going to take the render as a "massing only" image. It looks like a suburb business park / ugly university campus massing. It is frankly pretty terrible. I personally don't like big green spaces on these bigger plots. It is just a waste, better off to throw some townhomes and a bit of a grid pattern on the interior of the site. Plenty of green space in the surrounding area. It looks like early garden city city ideas, its terrible. Needs complete redesign.
 
MJC said:
I'm going to take the render as a "massing only" image. It looks like a suburb business park / ugly university campus massing. It is frankly pretty terrible. I personally don't like big green spaces on these bigger plots. It is just a waste, better off to throw some townhomes and a bit of a grid pattern on the interior of the site. Plenty of green space in the surrounding area. It looks like early garden city city ideas, its terrible. Needs complete redesign.
Click to expand...
One of the green spaces is a large rooftop I believe. The central area could use a re-do, maybe a 3-4 storey mixed use building of some sort. I don't know what else I would change in the design, as the buildings are generic placeholders. How would you re-do the overall design? I'm not saying it couldn't be, just wanting to see other options.
 
I don't think the buildings are generic place holders. It was one DP for the entire complex, so what has been approved includes the building designs. Unless they are just low quality renderings. Given the length of time it will take to build the project out, there is a chance some of the buildings may get redesigned as the market changes, but as of now all of the building designs have been approved.
 
Overall, it looks like a business campus on the edge of a residential neighbourhood with engineering-firm sized floorplates. Honestly, if this is approved, did the community have any objections on this? It is ugly. I would not want to live next to this...given its not a beautiful neighbourhood and next to the Foothills.

My take: I would cut it up in slightly smaller, narrower builders escalating in height towards 16 ave. Cut out most / all of the green space and have narrow roads and a few commodity / neighbourhood / restaurant retail tenants.

Who is the developer on this?
 
MJC said:
Overall, it looks like a business campus on the edge of a residential neighbourhood with engineering-firm sized floorplates. Honestly, if this is approved, did the community have any objections on this? It is ugly. I would not want to live next to this...given its not a beautiful neighbourhood and next to the Foothills.

My take: I would cut it up in slightly smaller, narrower builders escalating in height towards 16 ave. Cut out most / all of the green space and have narrow roads and a few commodity / neighbourhood / restaurant retail tenants.

Who is the developer on this?
Click to expand...
Yeah, the community was very opposed to it (at least most of the people that came to the open houses, and spoke at Council). Like all developments, you can't say the ENTIRE community was opposed to it, as I am sure there were some that were in support, and others that simply didn't care. But lots of vocal opposition back in 2010-2012 when the ARP was being prepared and went before Council.

Western Securities is the developer/land owner:
http://www.westernsecurities.ca/
 
The real problem of this development, isn't the development itself, it's the network layout of the NW Hub area combined with the fact that University Heights hasn't been allowed to redevelop - through a variety of design issues, community activism, planning restrictions. The neighbourhood is smack in the middle of ever-growing activity centres - now with some 50,000 jobs + students all within an easy walking distance*. The neighbourhood isn't even zoned for secondary suites, next to the largest student population within 300km.

*The bigger problem in the area is connectivity and accessibility for anyone but a drivers. It is remarkable just how car-oriented the NW hub area is. Not only were all institutions started in the post-war car-only era of planning - not a good start if we want a more sustainable, mixed-mode, vibrant urban centre - most institutions continue to double down on it or do little to change (University District being probably the best attempt, Foothills' endless parkade expansion being the worst, and McMahon's whole site being laughably under-utilized for decades).

The City, for it's part, responds by maintaining over-built 70s era boulevards along University Drive, 24th Ave and 32nd Ave, continues decades of freeway-ification of 16th and Crowchild, maintains one of Calgary's most unnecessary and large interchanges (University Drive & 16th Ave) and shows little progress in addressing the critical lack of good cycling and walking infrastructure in the area. If there is any area outside of the inner city that needs first-class pedestrian and cycling infrastructure, this is it. There is natural advantages - a forever-young population attracted to the University, high job density at each node in the cluster, all within 1-2km from each other with no hills - but we can't seem to make any truly transformative steps to make this happen. We even have the right-of-way capacity available along those over-built roads so no one loses anything.

Given all these constraints - either structurally or in people's minds - perhaps the campus-style, inward looking Stadium Shopping centre development is the best we can do. Which is disappointing.
 
It's a tragedy that University Heights doesn't have the appetite (at least the moment) to be heavily rezoned to allow significant increased density. It will literally be surrounded by apartments buildings on each side of the community borders within a couple decades time. At the least, land along the roads 24th ave, usher rd, unwin rd, and uxbridge dr should have zoning changes for increased desnity.
 
@MichaelS really appreciate the link, thank you.

I need to double back a bit on opinion now that I've dived into the uses and the plan that was provided. It is a corridor site, not a residential site, I love the hotel which will be a great amenity for the hospital. The massing / building layout is still disappointing and I think they have tried to do too much with it. I don't think the plaza is necessary and while it looks cool in renders really is not going to have the population or draw with the offices and medical uses to be activated in any real way. This is not going to be a shopping destination either. Who is really going to want to live in a business campus for the condominiums?

The architecture and design is truly horrible, I would not want to live next to this. If medical / supporting services makes sense for the site then go with that - I think this design is very confused.
 
Hi All,
I have Seen Various Stores and Other Spots in this location come and go so it seems over the Years, Am I Correct to Presume Co - op and Western Securities are Going In
as a Joint Partnership of Sorts to Redevekope the Areas with all 6 New Bldgs plus the Co - op Supermarket? Just Trying to Get a Better Ideas of What all Going In

Tnx,
Operater.
 
You must log in or register to post here.

Back
Top