City Council approves West Campus housing and retail development

By Riley Hill, September 11 2014 —

Calgary city council gave their unanimous approval to the west campus development project on Sept.8, clearing the way for the next phase of planning.

All councillors voted to rezone the area, clearing the way for further planning and construction. A representative from the West Campus Development Trust (WCDT) spoke in favour of the project at city council, where he presented a letter of support from the five community associations surrounding west campus.

Once complete, the west campus development will include 6,000 new residential dwellings and 245,000 square feet of new retail space built on the empty land sitting between the University of Calgary main campus and the Alberta Children’s Hospital.

The WCDT — with a board that consists of U of C administrators, representatives for city developers and two student representatives — began work on the project in 2010.

The land was given to the U of C by the Alberta government. Initial planning for the new development began in 2006.

Emily Allert-House, a spokesperson for the WCDT, said the net income the U of C anticipates from the project is confidential.

“A lot of the details are tied up in what the market is going to do long term,” Allert-House said.

With the vote at city council complete, the WCDT can now decide who will receive lucrative contracts to develop the site. The WCDT will also go forward with a public relations campaign.

Construction is expected to begin next year and will take between 15–20 years to complete.