It’s a popular spot for getting an ice cream after biking around the Glenmore Reservoir or shopping at local boutiques, but Glenmore Landing could soon be unrecognizable.
The owner of the Glenmore Landing Shopping Centre, RioCan, has submitted a land use amendment application to The City of Calgary.
The application includes the shopping centre property and the adjacent City-owned land by 90th Avenue and 14th Street Southwest.
The Glenmore Landing Shopping Centre is located in the community of Bayview, bound by a natural area and Heritage Park as well as 90th Avenue Southwest and the community of Pump Hill, 14th Street and the community of Haysboro beyond to the east and the remainder of the community of Bayview and the Glenmore Reservoir to the west.
The redevelopment would include an anticipated 1,248 units as well as retail and office space along with affordable housing.
With view of the reservoir, the skyline and the Rockies, the apartment towers would have some of the best view potential in the city.
“It’s absolutely ambitious and I recognize a lot of the concerns the community has,” said Ward 11 Councillor Kourtney Penner.
She has concerns about the heights of the towers which could be up to 36 stories, as well the maintaining access throughout construction, but she says the city needs housing.
“Ageing in place can be in your own home but sometimes it means in your own community and places you’re really familiar with so this provides a great opportunity for that too.
“We need student housing. We need housing for workers and generally when you think about how we want to grow up as a city instead of growing out — this is a great location,” Penner said.
The Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line is adjacent to the site, which provides direct access for Calgary transit riders.
According to the RioCan report, sufficient parking for all the development will be provided.
Some people who live in the area are worried about about the proposed density.
“It’s a long-term plan which I do understand, but don’t condense it as much as they’re planning. If it would be 400 units, it might make more sense,” said Ariel Levy who lives in Pump Hill.
“I wish I had more answers,” said Gerry Miles, the owner of Margareta Designs in Glenmore Landing.
Her boutique has been a go-to destination for the fashion conscious in Calgary for over 30 years. Now, she’s facing uncertainty as a huge redevelopment looms.
“Would I be willing to renegotiate in three years? That’s going to have a lot to do with what’s going on around here and how accessible this mall is. I lived through the road work for the bus lane and I really don’t want to go through that again,” Miles said.
The Palliser Bayview Pumphill Community Association (PBPCA) said in a statement: “The PBPCA’s Mission is to connect the residents of the PBP and surrounding communities. So, while we strongly encourage community members to reach out and share their concerns, our role is to bring the community together and help support meaningful initiatives.”
Councillor Penner said the plan is still in the early stages.
“It’s important to keep in mind when we get a project of this scale often the first go is not what we end up with as a final product,” Penner said.
“It would seem that the plan to re-develop Glenmore Landing is a ‘fait accompli.’ That doesn’t mean that we cannot, as a community, impact and influence the planning such that the result is acceptable to most,” said community member John Kipp in the PBPCA newsletter.
RioCan Management Inc. said it entered into a purchase and sale agreement with the City of Calgary as of June 2022 to achieve the collective long-term vision of developing a vibrant, master-planned community hub through redevelopment of the existing Glenmore Landing shopping centre.
This agreement includes the purchasing of the City of Calgary surplus land along 14th Street and 90th Avenue.
According to a recent report, RioCan wants to take a “phased approach to strengthen the retail at Glenmore Landing with the addition of residential housing options to transform the site into a pedestrian friendly, mixed-use community.”