Residents of Calgary's dynamic campus communities benefit from youthful energy and added amenities

Bob Benson fondly recalls many a Bermuda Shorts Day – the University of Calgary's annual end-of-academic-year celebration – at the Benson home in the northwest community of Varsity.

"We'd host a Bermuda Shorts Day breakfast with ham and pancakes. Kids would congregate at our place at 8:30 a.m. or 9 a.m. and then head over to the university," said Benson, adding he and his wife moved to Varsity in 1988 with the hope that the community's proximity to the university would make it easier for his four children to attend. Apparently, it worked – three of Benson's children studied there.

Varsity is one of several Calgary communities that borders a post-secondary institution. That proximity comes with all the pros, and the occasional con, of living near a large body of students.

Currie Barracks development to add 11,000 residents under higher density model

A proud history is set to become an ambitious future for one of Calgary's most historic communities.

Currie Barracks, the former Canadian Forces Base (CFB) in southwest Calgary, is about to undergo a transformation that will eventually see the area home to as many as 11,000 new residents.