| A quiet, older neighbourhood located in the city’s core is at odds with a Calgary home builder’s big plans for a parcel of land in the southwest. The tree-lined community of Elboya, home to Stanley Park, is approximately three kilometres south of the downtown. The community is protesting a proposed condominium development by Homes by Avi that could see more than 450 condominiums constructed on a 1.8-hectare site at 50 Avenue S.W. between 4 and 6 Streets.
The land in question is currently owned by AltaLink, which has large towers on the site that support a 240,000 volt transmission line that’s part of Calgary’s power distribution system. If Homes by Avi wins approval from the city of Calgary to have the land rezoned from R1 (single family housing) to R5 (medium density), that section of AltaLink’s power line would be put underground to allow the development to proceed.
Jay Winans, president of the Elboya Community Association, has launched a letter-writing campaign urging residents to rally against the proposed development. With a heading that reads "Proposed Property Development Will Destroy Elboya," the letters are being distributed to homeowners throughout the community. "If R5 status were allowed, Homes by Avi could develop as many as 462 condominiums," he says.
Winans says the people of Elboya are not against development, but rather the scale of what’s being proposed. "The Elboya Community Association supports the city’s policy to increase density in the inner-city," he says. "Elboya is a traditional, older community, very mixed in terms of income levels, the homes run the gamut but are primarily single family houses." Winans believes the large size of the proposed condominium project would lead to more than 1,000 additional people moving into the community of Elboya with negative results. "What’s being proposed is taking three quarters of the number of our households and squeezing them into a space that is effectively two blocks," he says. "The issue becomes one of compromise," he adds. "While we support an increase in density in the inner-city, on the other hand, in an established community like Elboya, an increase has to be reasonable, gradual, moderate. It has to conform to the character of the community as it has been established."
Charron Ungar, vice-president of product development for Homes by Avi, says the Elboya project would consist of a yet-to-be-determined number of four-storey buildings in addition to townhomes with approximately 458 units being built in total. "Calgary is growing and the city needs to best utilize the land in the inner city," he says. "If it’s done responsibly, everyone wins."
Ungar says the project, which would have the buildings fronting 50 Avenue S.W., would be an improvement to the area. "Fiftieth Avenue, in our opinion, could use some revamping," he says. "We think the development would help that. We would put in sidewalks and there would be more culture in the area. By culture I mean diversity." Negotiations between the Elboya Community Association and Homes by Avi about the future of the project are currently at an impasse. Meanwhile, officials at City Hall continue to review the developer’s application to have the land rezoned for medium-density housing. Ungar says although some residents of Elboya are upset at what’s being proposed, the planning for the housing project continues. "We feel strongly that it’s necessary that the community is engaged," he says. "There will be public consultation and a public presentation."
Back in Elboya, Winans says the residents of his inner-city community are still willing to consider a project that would have from 80 to 120 condominiums on the land, but they will continue to vigorously oppose any project that’s larger than this. "A hundred condominiums, seems to me, is a very reasonable compromise," says Winans. |
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