Stadium Shopping Centre redevelopment to include hotel, office space
An artist's rendering of the stadium shopping centre.
Photograph by: Handout , Handout
A northwest Calgary strip mall is set to grow taller, transforming into a multi-use property including residential, retail, hotel and office space.
But concerns are being raised about future traffic problems and the disposition of municipal reserve land as part of the development.
Western Securities, owner and developer of the land currently occupied by Stadium Shopping Centre, announced Wednesday it has concluded the master planning process for the 6.1-acre (2.5-hectare) site on the corner of 16th Avenue and Uxbridge Drive N.W. The plan includes a pedestrian bridge for connecting the community to the Foothills Hospital and planned new cancer centre, as well as a central plaza.
A final master plan has been presented through a series of open houses and exhibits at the shopping centre during November.
“The master plan for the Stadium site reflects an organic evolution of the single-use retail site to one that will serve a mix of existing and future demographics in the area,” said Mike Brescia, vice-president of Western Securities Ltd.
“It was important to invest in a thorough planning process with hopes that all stakeholders will see their imprint on the final plan and built product. We’ve come a long way since beginning this master planning process in 2010, and I am very proud of what we have all collectively created for the city.”
The Stadium Shopping Centre Area Redevelopment Plan was approved by city council in July 2013.
Councillor Ward Sutherland said the master plan for proposal “looks good.”
“The main concern obviously from everybody is transportation: how the traffic is going to move. And originally in this controversial development, there’s 14 conditions of traffic that have to be satisfied,” Sutherland said.
“I want to re-assure people that as this build-out occurs these conditions have to be met. So it’s not like this whole thing is going to get built and then we’re going to deal with transportation issues later. Not going to happen. The infrastructure has to be there … there is some controversy of the selling of the land on the corner. That will come up at council.”
On Dec. 8, city council will meet to discuss the municipal reserve disposition and land use for the corner of 29th Street and 16th Avenue N.W.
Peter Khu, president of the University Heights Community Association, said the proposal is a “very, very big development.”
“I think what concerns a lot of people isn’t so much the development itself but the fact that part of the development is being proposed to be built on what currently is public land,” said Khu. “It seems like a small issue, but it’s a very, very important issue because that corridor of 16th Avenue from Banff Trail all the way to the western edge of the city is currently intact. There’s free flow and the potential for other mitigation in the future.
“Our point is that this development can actually with some modifications be developed the way they envision it. But why take that municipal reserve this time? The issue is going before city council on December 8 and the recommendation is to sell it for less than $250,000. Is that good value for the city? That corner is busy now and it is the main entrance to Foothills Hospital. It is the main entrance to the cancer centre. And it is the main entrance a huge number of medical services that will only increase as that site develops. So we think the disposition of that municipal reserve is far, far premature.”
But concerns are being raised about future traffic problems and the disposition of municipal reserve land as part of the development.
Western Securities, owner and developer of the land currently occupied by Stadium Shopping Centre, announced Wednesday it has concluded the master planning process for the 6.1-acre (2.5-hectare) site on the corner of 16th Avenue and Uxbridge Drive N.W. The plan includes a pedestrian bridge for connecting the community to the Foothills Hospital and planned new cancer centre, as well as a central plaza.
A final master plan has been presented through a series of open houses and exhibits at the shopping centre during November.
“The master plan for the Stadium site reflects an organic evolution of the single-use retail site to one that will serve a mix of existing and future demographics in the area,” said Mike Brescia, vice-president of Western Securities Ltd.
“It was important to invest in a thorough planning process with hopes that all stakeholders will see their imprint on the final plan and built product. We’ve come a long way since beginning this master planning process in 2010, and I am very proud of what we have all collectively created for the city.”
The Stadium Shopping Centre Area Redevelopment Plan was approved by city council in July 2013.
Councillor Ward Sutherland said the master plan for proposal “looks good.”
“The main concern obviously from everybody is transportation: how the traffic is going to move. And originally in this controversial development, there’s 14 conditions of traffic that have to be satisfied,” Sutherland said.
“I want to re-assure people that as this build-out occurs these conditions have to be met. So it’s not like this whole thing is going to get built and then we’re going to deal with transportation issues later. Not going to happen. The infrastructure has to be there … there is some controversy of the selling of the land on the corner. That will come up at council.”
On Dec. 8, city council will meet to discuss the municipal reserve disposition and land use for the corner of 29th Street and 16th Avenue N.W.
Peter Khu, president of the University Heights Community Association, said the proposal is a “very, very big development.”
“I think what concerns a lot of people isn’t so much the development itself but the fact that part of the development is being proposed to be built on what currently is public land,” said Khu. “It seems like a small issue, but it’s a very, very important issue because that corridor of 16th Avenue from Banff Trail all the way to the western edge of the city is currently intact. There’s free flow and the potential for other mitigation in the future.
“Our point is that this development can actually with some modifications be developed the way they envision it. But why take that municipal reserve this time? The issue is going before city council on December 8 and the recommendation is to sell it for less than $250,000. Is that good value for the city? That corner is busy now and it is the main entrance to Foothills Hospital. It is the main entrance to the cancer centre. And it is the main entrance a huge number of medical services that will only increase as that site develops. So we think the disposition of that municipal reserve is far, far premature.”
Brescia said the conversation over the municipal reserve land has been going on since 2010. The concept was to create a larger open space by taking land that is being under-utilized and re-purpose it. He said the developer has also been working on addressing traffic concerns in the neighbourhood, adding that the ARP has some very specific outlines in terms of significant transportation infrastructure upgrades that will be required by the developer.
The entire project is about 800,000 square feet, comprising 85,000 square feet of retail, nearly 300,000 square feet of office, 300,000 square feet of residential and 120,000 square feet of hospitality. The hotel will contain about 150 to 200 rooms. There will be about 300 to 350 residential units in various formats.
Brescia said the company is just starting its development permit drawings with more detailed design for the project. That is expected to be submitted by next spring. He said the hope is to be under construction in the first part of 2016. If the project was to be built at once, it would take about five years to be completed.
“We think we have an extraordinarily unique location in Calgary. I don’t think any developers could re-produce what we have here given the proximity to the University of Calgary, McMahon Stadium, Foothills Hospital. The new cancer project has been announced to go across the street from us here,” Brescia said.
‘We think (the site) provides a very unique opportunity to actually put all of these uses with underground parking in this location.”
The Stadium district will feature upgraded transportation infrastructure; tree-lined streets with wide sidewalks and bicycle lanes for access for all modes of transportation; ground floor amenities such as restaurants and retailers and a transit plaza; and a connected network for automobiles, transit, bicycles and pedestrians.
Western Securities said it developed the Stadium Shopping Centre on former farmlands in 1962, and has since remained the primary landowner. Currently, the property is comprised of approximately 60,000 square feet of single-storey retail strip mall and retail pads with a large surface parking lot.
“The redevelopment of the Stadium Shopping Centre site is an important component in the densification and gentrification of this mature trade area in northwest Calgary that is shadow-anchored by the massive Foothills Medical Centre,” said Michael Kehoe, an Alberta-based retail specialist with Fairfield Commercial Real Estate Inc., in Calgary.
The Stadium mall was one of the first purpose-built shopping plazas in Calgary, he noted.
Kehoe said the owners of the property have an “impressive vision” for the site that will “add much needed amenities for this evolving neighbourhood.”
mtoneguzzi@calgaryherald.com
Twitter.com/MTone123
The entire project is about 800,000 square feet, comprising 85,000 square feet of retail, nearly 300,000 square feet of office, 300,000 square feet of residential and 120,000 square feet of hospitality. The hotel will contain about 150 to 200 rooms. There will be about 300 to 350 residential units in various formats.
Brescia said the company is just starting its development permit drawings with more detailed design for the project. That is expected to be submitted by next spring. He said the hope is to be under construction in the first part of 2016. If the project was to be built at once, it would take about five years to be completed.
“We think we have an extraordinarily unique location in Calgary. I don’t think any developers could re-produce what we have here given the proximity to the University of Calgary, McMahon Stadium, Foothills Hospital. The new cancer project has been announced to go across the street from us here,” Brescia said.
‘We think (the site) provides a very unique opportunity to actually put all of these uses with underground parking in this location.”
The Stadium district will feature upgraded transportation infrastructure; tree-lined streets with wide sidewalks and bicycle lanes for access for all modes of transportation; ground floor amenities such as restaurants and retailers and a transit plaza; and a connected network for automobiles, transit, bicycles and pedestrians.
Western Securities said it developed the Stadium Shopping Centre on former farmlands in 1962, and has since remained the primary landowner. Currently, the property is comprised of approximately 60,000 square feet of single-storey retail strip mall and retail pads with a large surface parking lot.
“The redevelopment of the Stadium Shopping Centre site is an important component in the densification and gentrification of this mature trade area in northwest Calgary that is shadow-anchored by the massive Foothills Medical Centre,” said Michael Kehoe, an Alberta-based retail specialist with Fairfield Commercial Real Estate Inc., in Calgary.
The Stadium mall was one of the first purpose-built shopping plazas in Calgary, he noted.
Kehoe said the owners of the property have an “impressive vision” for the site that will “add much needed amenities for this evolving neighbourhood.”
mtoneguzzi@calgaryherald.com
Twitter.com/MTone123
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