Driving along Memorial Drive west of 10 Street NW, you get the view of the river to the south and older character homes to the north. But more than a dozen of those properties could soon meet a bulldozer if a development permit is approved by the City of Calgary.
Thirteen homes, many built a century ago, are set to come down and give way to a five-storey, 93-unit residential development proposed by Anthem Memorial Developments Ltd.
In March, a land use change for the site was approved by city council, and now a permit application is being reviewed by the city’s planning and development department.
The homes, despite being some of the first in the community, are not covered under any kind of historical designation.
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“Just because properties aren’t on the inventory doesn’t mean they aren’t historically significant,” said Josh Traptow, executive director of the Calgary Heritage Authority. “Those 13 houses are probably around the 100-year-old mark and are likely some of the first houses that were in that neighbourhood in the early 1900s time frame.”
Traptow said he hopes the Memorial Drive development application will give Calgarians a reason to talk about what density will look like in inner-city communities. He added that as neighbourhoods get older, more character heritage homes will be torn down to make way for new development.
The development application for the site is currently under review by the city’s planning and development department.
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