Acreage Living Feature A9 – A12
bigger beltline
sowing the seeds
Qualex-Landmark’s CALLA project opens
Garden Guru shares some tips
condos A6
donna balzer A19
FREE mar 21 to mar 27 2014 issue 04-11 www.crebnow.com facebook.com/crebnow twitter.com/crebnow
real estate news from industry experts
Westward Bound Chestermere expanding by 2,400 acres towards Calgary
rainbow rd.
C
hestermere’s Town Council has approved the master area structure plan for the 2,400 acre Waterbridge Development in West Chestermere. “After extensive review and hard work by all involved, we’re excited to see the plan for Chestermere’s West side take place,” said Chestermere Mayor Patricia Matthews. “We expect future plans, including the large commercial area in phase one, will be reflective of Chestermere’s unique character and anticipate we will be seeing those plans quickly.” Now that the master area structure plan is approved, the next step for the developers will be to create area structure plans to provide more detailed views of specific sections of the development. Once the area structure
plan is approved, the developers will need to create more detailed outline plans and subdivision plans before construction can start. “Going forward, Town staff will work with the developers to ensure that applications brought forward are consistent with our Municipal Development Plan and Land Use Bylaw, provide opportunities for stakeholder engagement, and meet the regulatory guidelines to ensure Chestermere’s best interests are at heart as the development progresses,” said Heather Kauer, the Town’s Senior Planner. The Waterbridge Development could attract more than 46,000 new residents and will expand from Rainbow Road in Chestermere to Calgary’s city limit, and from the TransCanada Highway to Township Road 240. “Waterbridge will allow Chestermere to continue to develop key services and ameni-
Waterbridge
reporter/photographer
conrich rd.
jessica cameron
Trans Canada Hwy
ties for our residents,” said Matthews. The population of Chestermere was just over 1,000 people in 1993, in 2012 there were about 16,000 people and with the Waterbridge Development the population is expected to quadruple. “The Town of Chestermere annexed the Waterbridge land in 2009. They annexed the land because it allowed them to control growth adjacent to them, rather than if Calgary annexed it, they would have had no control over how these lands would develop,” said Pam MacInnis, associate with Brown & Associates Planning Group. According to the master area structure plan, Waterbridge will have four communities; Business Park/North spanning 500 acres with a projected population of 7,977, North Central will occupy 761 acres with a
projected population of 14,898, South Central will take up 480 acres with a projected population of 13,109 and South will span across 480 acres and will have a projected population of 10,349. “Waterbridge will be primarily residential development but it will include a regional town centre, two village centres to serve the local communities, and various neighbourhood nodes to serve as gathering places and provide a social focus for neighbourhoods,” said MacInnis. Continued A3 >
“I worry about infrastructure issues. When you’re talking about an additional 40,000 residents, that impacts everything from seats in schools, added pressure on recreation facilities and it can cause significant traffic issues.” james foster, chestermere resident
City of Calgary Boundary township rd. 240
Waterbridge Development Town of Chestermere Boundary
SINGLE FAMILY
3093 FEB12 3367 MAR12 3501 APR12 3842 MAY12 3817 JUN12 3646 JUL12 3535 AUG12 3486 SEP12 3114 OCT12 2586 NOV12 1859 DEC12 2075 JAN13 2048 FEB13 2727 MAR13 2977 APR13 3311 MAY13 3199 JUN13 2917 JUL13 2791 AUG13 2789 SEP13 2705 OCT13 2171 NOV13 DEC13 1515 JAN14 1671 1894 FEB14
MLS® MONTH END INVENTORY* FEB ‘12 – FEB ‘14
*All statistics based on monthly data compiled by CREB® via MLS® activity.
Flood recovery and mitigation projects included in Budget 2014 CREB® STAFF
J
une 2013 was a devastating month for Calgary and areas around Southern Alberta, when the flood waters destroyed many homes and buildings. Since then, the Alberta government has been focused on the flood recovery of the province. The 2014 budget is providing $1.1 billion in operational expense and capital spending over the next three years to address flood recovery and mitigation initiatives with $518 million in 2014-2015.
provincial A3
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BMO housing report
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A8 A13 A13
2013 SAM Awards
how to
A14
Spring into cleaning
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