by John Kipp
On May 2, the board welcomed several representatives from Urban Systems (RioCan’s Calgary consultant), Noor Archecture, and RioCan via video stream from Toronto. The group was led by Mike Coldwell who is the principal at the Calgary office of Urban Systems and a senior planner. The group wanted to update the board with a presentation similar to what was seen on information boards at the April 26 open house, but with a little more narrative. About 220 residents attended the event and many filled out comment cards for Urban Systems. Halfway through the open house, Bayview represented about 39% of the attendees, Pump Hill had 17%, and Palliser had 16% based on a location map in the room.
About 40 residents from Haysboro attended the morning open house session at their community hall and several more attended the evening PBPCA session. No feedback was provided on the submitted comment cards but a little more clarity was provided on the preliminary concepts and the underlying vision for the Glenmore Landing redevelopment which is part of the RioCan five-year strategic plan.
RioCan, the owner of Glenmore Landing, is based in Toronto and is the second-largest real estate investment trust (REIT) in Canada. The REIT owns 289 primarily retail properties across Canada. In early 2022, RioCan unveiled its five-year strategic plan to re-imagine its retail holdings in the wake of online shopping and the recent pandemic, which are keeping a good many retail shoppers at home.
RioCan’s strategy is to transform its premium retail centres serviced by transit into mixed-use destinations featuring residential development, entertainment, dining, and luxury stores. At the company’s February 2022 investor presentation, president and chief executive officer Jonathan Gitlin said, “Mixed-use enables us to make the highest and best use of our properties while addressing the residential supply gap found in major markets.” While the Glenmore Landing drawings and concepts are quite preliminary, the long-term plan for Glenmore Landing (15 to 20 years) is to convert it into an urban centre where people can live, work, play, eat, and shop within a fairly short walk.
Short-Term Development
The short-term vision for Glenmore Landing starts with residential development in three phases, each separated by approximately five years. In short, Phase 1 along 90 Avenue SW will be completed in the next five years, while Phase 2 and Phase 3 will follow five and ten years later.
Each residential complex (phase) is estimated to contain about 400 units with an average of 1.8 residents per household. As such, each phase would add approximately 720 residents to PBP, which has a current population of approximately 6,000 based on the 2016 census. While the majority will be condominiums, RioCan will set aside approximately 10% of those units as subsidized rentals as part of the City of Calgary’s mandate to incorporate non-market housing as part of the sale of 5.5 acres surrounding the shopping centre.
The height and look of the buildings are still preliminary but could be as high as 20 stories with ground level retail services. Parking will be underground directly under the residential towers. Jacob Lackman, the Noor architect, and project manager at the meeting noted that the building drawings at this point are conceptual and have no balconies or windows — essentially “blocks” meant to show where the buildings will stand.
Long-Term Development
RioCan’s long-term vision for Glenmore Landing imagines a gradual redevelopment of the current shopping centre footprint with greater retail density balanced with pedestrian accessibility through and along the development to give it a more urban character. More residential development is ultimately imagined for the south end of the development. RioCan insists that the residential development will be phased in based on residential demand.
Next Steps
RioCan is still working on their Land Use Redesignation and Draft Plan of Subdivision to the City of Calgary and are currently negotiating for the purchase of the 5.5 acres surrounding the current Glenmore Landing shopping centre. These documents are necessary before the City’s planning department considers the necessary permits over the summer. Once that process is largely complete and the plans have evolved somewhat, Urban Systems will plan further community engagement opportunities in the fall of 2023 before the City Council considers the final submissions later this year.
Click here to the Bayview Community News home page for the latest Bayview community updates.
Click here to the Palliser Community News home page for the latest Palliser community updates.
Click here to the Pumphill Community News home page for the latest Pumphill community updates.
