INSIDE: SOUTHWEST APPEAL SW Ring Road drives growth PAGE A6 Greater accessibility with SW BRT PAGE A7
Granary Road public market PAGE A8 Bragg Creek’s unique identity PAGE A9
Shawnee Slopes development PAGE A10 Community Profile: Aspen Woods PAGE A11
FREE jun 16 to jun 22 2017 issue 07-23 editorial 403-781-1349 advertising 403-263-4940 crebnow@creb.ca
real estate news from industry experts
COMMUNITIES WITH CHARACTER Mature and distinctive communities are a point of pride for Calgary’s southwest residents
KATHLEEN RENNE creb®now
L
awyer Chris Davis is no stranger to Calgary’s southwest, a sprawling quadrant of the city roughly bordered by the Bow River to the north, Macleod Trail to the east, and the city limits to the south and west. “My family has long roots in the southwest, going back to the early 1920s,” he said, adding he spent his early years growing up in Lower Mount Royal and is also running for city council in Ward 8 in this fall’s municipal election. “Historically, there seemed to be a big divide as to whether your family chose to live north or south of the Bow River.” Because of his familial connection, Davis found himself gravitating toward an adult life in the south-
west, residing in Bankview, Elbow Park, Garrison Woods, Parkhill and Richmond-Knob Hill at various times. Today, he and his wife live in North Glenmore, a relatively small community of some 2,380 residents, according to the 2014 Calgary Civic Census. In this neighbourhood founded in 1959 and located on the edge of North Glenmore Park, 84 per cent of residents live in single-family dwellings. While Davis acknowledges “each quadrant has its own unique blend of geographical features, culture, and other opportunities,” he loves the attractions and amenities available to him in his relatively central southwest community. “We have great access to the city’s primary road network of Glenmore Trail and Crowchild Trail, the cycle track system, Mount Royal University, the Flames Community
CITY OF CALGARY
Arenas, the Military Museums, Sandy Beach and the Elbow River pathway system,” he said. Another feature Davis highlights is the southwest’s proximity to not one, but two rivers – the Bow and the Elbow. Moreover, Davis says, as many communities in the southwest have long histories – Mission, for example, was established in 1900 – “their urban forests have had a chance to develop and mature, making this part of the city more liveable.” Alison Whitley, another longtime resident of Calgary’s southwest, also cites “the mature trees and green spaces” among the main attractions of the older communities that make up much of the southwest quadrant. Whitley, the owner of theatre company Pegasus Performances, has lived in Calgary for more than 50 years. For the past dozen years, she and her husband have called Cougar
MLS® BENCHMARK PRICE* MAY ’15 – MAY ’17
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WIL ANDRUSCHAK / FOR CREB®NOW
MY FAMILY HAS LONG ROOTS IN THE SOUTHWEST, GOING BACK TO THE EARLY 1920s.”
Chris Davis’ and his wife currently live in the southwest community of North Glenmore.
Bow Trail got so busy – we decided we wanted to be further away from such a major roadway,” she said. “The southwest has everything you could need. It’s got shopping from major centres like Chinook (Centre) through to a theatre company’s favourite: thrift stores. The southwest also has good roads, theatres like the Pumphouse, recreation centres with swimming pools, etc.” Whitley says she also likes the “variety” in housing styles and communities the southwest offers. “It’s not all cookie-cutter and the same,” she said.
CHRIS DAVIS
SOUTHWEST HOME OWNER
Ridge home. Established in 2001, it’s one of the newer communities in the southwest. It borders Paskapoo Slopes and Canada Olympic Park to the north, 69th Street to the east and Bow Trail to the south. Ninety-one per cent of the community’s 6,702 residents live in single-family homes, including Whitley and her husband. “We had been living in Westgate.
SOUTHWEST A3
TRANSPORTATION CONTENTS PROJECTS KEEP NEWS BRIEFS SOUTH CALGARY BUYER PROFILE DONNA BALZER COMMUNITIES CONNECTED RENOVATIONS
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$443,800
$439,600
$439,400
$437,400
$438,100
$439,000
$438,900
$440,400
$440,200
$440,000
$440,400
$439,700
$441,000
$442,800
$445,000
The sunny south
$447,800
$452,800
$454,800
$457,400
$459,300
$459,300
$459,100
$459,300
$457,800
$456,700
Marina and Gavin Reeves
Home renos on the rise
CREB® STAFF
HOW TO. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A5 Electric to gas stoves
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*All statistics based on monthly data compiled by CREB® via MLS® activity. Includes detached, attached and apartment.
s south Calgary continues to grow and develop, the City of Calgary wants to make sure these communities are well connected. Construction has now begun on a connector road between Macleod Trail and Sheriff King Street, ultimately connecting to Spruce Meadows Way.
POP THE QUESTION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A5 Brookfield Residential’s Allen Klassen
MAP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B1 OPEN HOUSES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B23
TRANSPORTATION A3
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MLS®C4110357 $939,000 Real Experience Real Results
• Executive quality walkout bungalow • 2780 sq. ft. on the main
OPEN HOUSE SATURDAY, 159 SADDLE RISE FROM 1 - 5 PM DIRECTIONS: COME TO BRAGG CREEK AND FOLLOW THE SIGNS
Lee Edwards 403.540.0540
CANYON CREEK
• Very private with exceptional view • Able to keep horses
braggcreekrealestate.com lee@braggcreekrealestate.com