Prices remain stable compared to last year


As expected, slow sales this quarter have persisted through March in the City of Calgary. This is not a surprise, after stronger growth in sales at the end of last year following the announced changes to the lending market.

First quarter sales totaled 3,423 units, nearly 18 per cent below last year's levels and 24 per cent below long-term averages. Easing sales and modest gains in new listings caused inventories to rise and months of supply to remain above four months.

International Avenue's unique mix of individuals, businesses and ideas is one of a kind in Calgary

Every year, people from all over Calgary flock to 17th Avenue S.E. to take part in a foodie favourite event called Around the World in 35 Blocks.

The event sees people tour some of the many restaurants between 26th Street and 61st Street S.E., dubbed International Avenue, stopping to taste the cuisine, chat with restaurant owners and see cooking demonstrations.

The event is organized by the International Avenue Business Revitalization Zone (BRZ), and is a showcase for a shopping and dining district that rivals 17th Avenue S.W., but with a wholly different flavour.

City eyes the future with 17th Avenue facelift

Whether you're a person or a stretch of pavement, 30 years of hard labour can take its toll. When you're as heavily travelled as 17th Avenue S.W., the effect is multiplied. That's why the City of Calgary, armed with a $44 million budget, is giving much of the area a facelift. From Macleod Trail to 14th Street S.W., the City is upgrading utilities, rebuilding the road and improving pedestrian areas to pave the way for future use.

"This began as simply a road construction project," said Ryan Murray, a spokesperson for the City of Calgary's transportation department. "After 30 years, it was time to dig down and rebuild the foundation of 17th Avenue. We decided that while we were down there, we should make the most of it by upgrading old utilities and rebuilding the road."

City of Calgary report provides estimates for short-term growth in city's suburbs

What's Calgary going to look like in the next five years when it comes to growth and the housing market?

The City of Calgary's Suburban Residential Growth 2017-2021 report sheds some light on where the city is headed in terms of population and housing growth over the short term.

The draft document is an interesting one, and it serves as a starting point of discussion as the City looks to sustainably increase its footprint.

High hopes for high-speed hyperloop

They might not see eye-to-eye on much, but Calgary and Edmonton are united by their interest in the latest effort to bring high-speed transportation to Alberta. The hyperloop concept consists of pressurized aluminum pods travelling in tubes. Using magnetic propulsion and levitation, the system can exceed speeds of 1,000 km/h. Calgary to Edmonton in less than half an hour, anyone?

Plans for Anderson Station transit-oriented development approach final approval

A new outline plan and land use application for the lands surrounding the Anderson LRT Station was approved at the Calgary Planning Commission in February and will now go before city council on April 16 for final approval.

Doug Cassidy, director of real estate and development services for the City of Calgary, said Anderson Station has many characteristics that make it viable as a transit-oriented development (TOD) site.

Ring road construction accelerates plans for new Richmond-Sarcee interchange

Plans for a $106-million interchange at Richmond Road and Sarcee Trail are taking on added importance as construction continues along Calgary's southwest ring road.

Residents of surrounding communities, and the area's city councillor, want the interchange plan to be funded and built in time to handle traffic when the ring road opens around the end of 2021.

The games are gone, but its legacy lives on

While the Olympic flame may be long extinguished, warm memories and many benefits of the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary are alive and well 30 years later.

"The best thing about the Olympic experience was the forethought that went into its legacy," said Dale Oviatt, senior manager of communications and stakeholder engagement for WinSport.

On Sept. 30, 1981, WinSport, formerly known as the Calgary Olympic Development Association (CODA), successfully won the bid from the International Olympic Committee for Calgary to host the XV Olympic Winter Games in 1988.

How Calgarians banded together to protect nature and create Nose Hill Park

In the early 1970s, the booming city of Calgary was expanding ever outward.

Developers looking for new areas to build communities cast their eyes upward in the northwest to Nose Hill, which dominated the area landscape.

Nose Hill was prime real estate, untouched by residential development, but it was also viewed by some Calgarians as an important remnant of the fast-vanishing prairie grassland ecosystem.

New developments on Calgary's western edge hope to raise the bar for active, outdoor living

Two major developments in Calgary's northwest will soon solidify the area's reputation as the gateway to Rocky Mountain recreation and winter adventure.

While the nearby Trans-Canada Highway will guide future residents towards mountain playgrounds in Canmore and Banff, the communities of Rowan Park and Medicine Hill will offer their own built-in recreational amenities.