Evergreen offers suburban charm with easy access to the great outdoors

The southwest community of Evergreen is snuggled against the southern edge of one of Calgary's most beautiful and accessible natural areas – Fish Creek Park. But perhaps its greatest claim to fame is an unexpected one.

Evergreen provided the backdrop for the feature-length Canadian film Radiant City, a docu/mockumentary, which was presented at the 2006 Toronto Film Festival. The film explores life in the suburbs, and crafts a vivid account of the fictional Moss family, who packed up and moved from Calgary's inner city to the suburbs to pursue the dream of new-home ownership.

With a relatively long history – the first part of Evergreen was developed more than 25 years ago – the community features a variety of architectural styles, from homes with attached garages and front driveways to laned homes with large front verandas, colonnades and pastel colour themes.

Playgrounds and pathways pepper the community, connecting the two sections – the older and more established Evergreen Estates with the newer Evergreen and Shawnee neighbourhoods.

Three schools serve the community, including the newly opened Marshall Springs Junior High School.

Although it is a bit of a trek to the downtown core from the community, Evergreen residents aren't far from Highway 22X – a major thoroughfare leading to Bragg Creek and the majestic beauty of the Rocky Mountains in Kananaskis Country.

"I am not really attracted by the fanfare of the inner-city scene. On the weekends, I like to get up early and head out to the mountains to fish or hike, or in the winter to do some snowboarding." - Brent Sauve, Evergreen resident

That's one of the reasons that Brent Sauve sought out an Evergreen address. He moved from Edmonton to Calgary a few years ago, lured by Calgary's outdoor lifestyle and the available work opportunities.

"I am not really attracted by the fanfare of the inner-city scene," he said. "On the weekends, I like to get up early and head out to the mountains to fish or hike, or in the winter to do some snowboarding," said Sauve.

He is one of several thousand other Calgarians who feel the same way about life in the suburbs – that it beats the benefits of inner-city living. "Definitely there is more bang for the buck when it comes to purchasing a home," said Sauve.

Almost 7,200 households would agree with him. Calgary's 2017 civic census data puts Evergreen's population at 21,439 people, and it is expected to more than double over the next 20 years. It's already the third-largest community in the city, and it is about to become even larger with the addition of Shawnee Park, a new development currently in the works.

Located on the former Shawnee Slopes golf course site, the Shawnee Park plan includes a blend of close to 1,700 single- and multi-family homes, and pedestrian-friendly design that includes pathways, an urban forest and parks.

Developer Cardel Homes has crafted a community of diverse, single-family home styles, integrated into the established community of Evergreen. It will unfold in several phases, with four new showhomes leading the way – the Barrett 2, Miro 2, Savin, and Selkirk 2. All are two-storey, single-family designs featuring more than 2,000 square feet of living space.

On the east end of Shawnee Park is Fish Creek Exchange by Graywood Developments, which features four multi-family sites. The first site, an apartment-style condo project, is over 60 per cent sold.