New development to bring restaurants, retail to RiverWalk

East Village's historic Simmons Building will soon have a fashionable new neighbour.

A fitting mix of Calgary's past and future, the new project will bring 17,000 to 20,000 square feet of retail and office space to M2 – a quarter-acre lot alongside the Bow River in downtown Calgary.

"M2 is a highly visible site and, even though it's small, it will have a huge presence in East Village," said Kate MacGregor, president of Calgary's XYC Design + Development.

Doors Open YYC running Sept. 27-28

The Doors' frontman Jim Morrison once said "there are things known and things unknown and in-between are the doors."

That couldn't be more true for Doors Open YYC, which returns to the city Sept. 27-28.

This represents the third incarnation of the local program, which originated in Europe 25 years ago as a way of promoting civic pride.

What's a life hack you may ask?

"For the uniformed, a life hack is a strategy or technique that helps manage one's daily activities in a more efficient way," said a release from the Calgary Home + Design Show running Sept. 18-21 at BMO Centre. "And the ideas out there are endless: from storing holiday decorations in an egg carton to painting keys with nail polish for easy identification."

When it comes to Calgary City Council, a tie on a specific vote equals defeat.

At a Sept. 10 Standing Policy Committee meeting, a proposal by city planners looking to streamline Calgary's secondary suite approval process was voted down 4-4.

"First thing, I want to make a point of is enforcement is not a housing policy," said the City's General Manager Rollin Stanley. "If a person remains homeless, we fail as a city. If a suite is made safe, we succeed."

Calgary's multi-family sector continues to surpass single-family growth

It's déjà vu for Calgary's condominium market, which is on pace to outperform the city's single-family homes sector in sales growth for the second consecutive year.

After the first eight months of the year, condominium apartment and townhouse sales have totaled 3,388 and 2,685 units respectively, representing a combined jump of nearly 20 per cent. Single-family sales, meanwhile, have increased by a more modest 6.9 per cent.

More than 350 exhibitors on hand for 2014 Home + Design Show

Born in Calgary, interior designer Heather Draper spent seven years in Victoria before realizing her heart remained in Alberta.

"There's a vibrancy," she said. "Calgary resonates this positive energy that I absolutely love."

Draper will be sharing that positive energy, as well as some ins and outs of interior design, when she presents on the main stage of the Calgary Home + Design Show Sept. 18-21.

City's history lives on in Doors Open YYC site Fort Calgary

When the North West Mounted Police (NWMP) arrived at the confluence of the Bow and Elbow rivers in 1875, they likely didn't know their small fort would eventually evolve into a metropolitan hub for more than one million residents.

Yet 139 years later, Calgary has flourished to become one of the most influential cities in Canada – all thanks to a series of small wooden structures constructed by a federal order to force whiskey traders from the area.

Many Albertans yearning for that rural experience

As Alberta's major cities continue to grow, it would appear more people are being drawn in by the urban experience.

Yet many Albertans are still choosing the prairie skies over city streetlights. Perhaps unfathomable to urbanites, these rural dwellers are all too willing to cast aside conveniences of the "big city," and instead stake their claim in the hills, prairies and valleys of Wild Rose Country.

"I enjoy the opportunity to do what I want, within reason," said Ray Howell, who's lived on an acreage west of Calgary for the last 22 years. "We have a large garden and have had many animals throughout the years. Overall, you have more freedom to do what you want."

Doors Open YYC making stops at F&D Scene Changes and Calgary Stampede

A 30-year-old business that transforms dreams into reality and a century-old fixture on Calgary's landscape are just two of the expected bright spots at Doors Open YYC later this month.

F&D Scene Changes and the Calgary Stampede grounds will be among more than three dozen sites featured in this year's local program, scheduled for Sept. 27-28.

F&D is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, having designed, fabricated and installed its products for theatre, television, movies, theme parks, museums and trade shows.

Petition forces secondary suites back on the agenda

Calgary's long-running debate on secondary suites has gone viral.

The latest salvo in the bid to gain wider acceptance for secondary suites comes by way of an online petition backed by the student unions at Calgary's two universities along with Vibrant Communities Calgary, a group dedicated to addressing poverty in the city.

The petition, titled Calgarians for Secondary Suites, began popping up on Facebook and Twitter over the weekend, demanding the City make a plebiscite on the issue part of the 2017 municipal election.