The Familia said:
UD and WV look like they will be really solid areas. Pretty cool that Calgary is starting to pull off these master planned areas properly. Seton and Trinity Hills....they look mediocre in comparison.
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IMO Currie Barracks deserves some praise, too. A lot less mixed use than WD and UD (which makes sense given proximity to Marda Loop), but what it does have is a lot funkier given the military building re-use. A few gyms, Wild Rose brewery, another distillery brewpub, a small inn/restaurant, and it looks like a new chiro/wellness place, too. Obviously some unique limitations, but it'll be interesting to see how it continues to evolve. The new park at Richmond Greens and connecting Quesnay Wood Dr to 33rd will be a game changer.

Big opportunities for the stretch along Richardson Way and Richard Rd be even more dense...maybe even some towers?
 
Surrealplaces said:
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Why is there a death star in the middle of this whole development? And that looks a Tie fighter in front of the pond
 
lemongrab said:
IMO Currie Barracks deserves some praise, too. A lot less mixed use than WD and UD (which makes sense given proximity to Marda Loop), but what it does have is a lot funkier given the military building re-use. A few gyms, Wild Rose brewery, another distillery brewpub, a small inn/restaurant, and it looks like a new chiro/wellness place, too. Obviously some unique limitations, but it'll be interesting to see how it continues to evolve. The new park at Richmond Greens and connecting Quesnay Wood Dr to 33rd will be a game changer.

Big opportunities for the stretch along Richardson Way and Richard Rd be even more dense...maybe even some towers?
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Currie is a weird one - something about the era of planning plus the timing and complexity of execution resulted in the interesting - but underwhelming - progress so far. The end vision is pretty interesting and could be quite good, just the execution and momentum dragged it's unclear to me that we will ever see it.

Their first mistake was leading with that wild, one-off round-about interchange at Flanders Ave. It's a very suburban way of developing, getting distracted by the major, expensive car-oriented infrastructure that is "required", losing focus on the actual delivery of the cool neighbourhood that's the whole point. The design itself set the wrong tone and remains woefully car-oriented, in complete contrast to the neighbourhood vision and the existing context of something far more walkable and urban.

Complaints aside, the area has a great opportunity and is such a central location. Demand for housing in the inner SW has been strong for 30 years, Richmond Green redevelopment is a big opportunity too. Now just got to refocus to build the neighbourhood that all this effort was for in the first place!
 
CBBarnett said:
Currie is a weird one - something about the era of planning plus the timing and complexity of execution resulted in the interesting - but underwhelming - progress so far. The end vision is pretty interesting and could be quite good, just the execution and momentum dragged it's unclear to me that we will ever see it.

Their first mistake was leading with that wild, one-off round-about interchange at Flanders Ave. It's a very suburban way of developing, getting distracted by the major, expensive car-oriented infrastructure that is "required", losing focus on the actual delivery of the cool neighbourhood that's the whole point. The design itself set the wrong tone and remains woefully car-oriented, in complete contrast to the neighbourhood vision and the existing context of something far more walkable and urban.

Complaints aside, the area has a great opportunity and is such a central location. Demand for housing in the inner SW has been strong for 30 years, Richmond Green redevelopment is a big opportunity too. Now just got to refocus to build the neighbourhood that all this effort was for in the first place!
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There are two anthem condos coming closer to MRU and there is another one coming close to Veranda and across the street from the massive old folks complex. They seem to be smaller and not city-building projects that section of Currie requires to take off.
 
CBBarnett said:
Their first mistake was leading with that wild, one-off round-about interchange at Flanders Ave.
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What was the reasoning on that? I used to live nearby and have used both iterations of the interchange a ton, but the reconstruction happened while I was living in Mordor (Edmonton).
 
IMO Currie nailed with a labyrinth of narrow streets while building excellent walking connections throughout. Connections beyond its borders leave a lot to be desired, but that has to do with the weird mix of stuff around.

I'm not sure if the east side of higher density will ever feel consistent/harmonious, but that's also kinda what I like about it...the gradual reduction of military presence lends a certain charming quirkiness. It's disjointed and piecemeal, but I find it oddly appealing.

CBBarnett said:
Their first mistake was leading with that wild, one-off round-about interchange at Flanders Ave. It's a very suburban way of developing, getting distracted by the major, expensive car-oriented infrastructure that is "required", losing focus on the actual delivery of the cool neighbourhood that's the whole point. The design itself set the wrong tone and remains woefully car-oriented, in complete contrast to the neighbourhood vision and the existing context of something far more walkable and urban.
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After chewing on this for a few minutes I'm going to disagree. Don't get me wrong - it totally sucks - but I actually think this is the least worst of all the terrible ways to cross a freeway (aside from a ped overpass, which still has its own flaws). Flanders benefits from relatively low volumes, but the key here is that vehicle speeds are inherently limited. And as a pedestrian you never really have to wait...at least not for a signal to change; you certainly can't expect driver compliance, but that's true at signalized intersections at this point, too. All of the usual traffic circle benefits apply - driver attention stays mostly forward and the crossing happens before they're looking to their left. And the amount of pedestrian detour isn't really any more than any other interchange.

Car-centric or not, I've found that vehicle speeds stay down which I really think is the most important thing. While the fewest cars possible is optimal, I'd prefer a steady stream of cars <45 kph over a few cars sporadically whipping by at 65kph. Currie can be a bit of a zoo around school drop/pickup times (especially right now with ever changing construction), but at least the cars are slow.
 
CBBarnett said:
Their first mistake was leading with that wild, one-off round-about interchange at Flanders Ave. It's a very suburban way of developing, getting distracted by the major, expensive car-oriented infrastructure that is "required", losing focus on the actual delivery of the cool neighbourhood that's the whole point. The design itself set the wrong tone and remains woefully car-oriented, in complete contrast to the neighbourhood vision and the existing context of something far more walkable and urban.
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I can't stand the connection path from Marda Loop to Currie. It's not good for cyclists or pedestrians, and really it's not even good for drivers. IMO it's a pile of crap.

Outside of that I don't mind Currie. It's still evolving and will probably be an alright urban enclave in the suburbs once it's done, but yeah, kind of cut off from stuff. Even a nice interface into MRU would have made a difference.
 
Did some digging on DMAP and posted an update in the currie thread.

Currie | 87m | 30s | CLC | DIALOG

Too bad about Bosa, they've been one of the more solid developers. I still remember how their Axxis project was one of the first condo towers in the early 2000s, and it really kicked things off. Man was I excited about that tower, it was such a "big city" project for Calgary to get. Yeah, it...
calgary.skyrisecities.com calgary.skyrisecities.com
 
Where is the rec centre site?

And another random question - are there restrictions on what can be built around the transmitter tower/how close? The A&W and townhomes south of it suggest there isn't, and there's nothing noted in the ASP
 
Interesting, thanks! I would've thought a parcel fronting OBCR would've made more sense, but it looks like Truman doesn't own those. It's [sadly] hard to imagine a rec centre that isn't surrounded by a sea of parking these days, but I'll be glad to see it hopefully happen!
 
With the increased density and need for amenities surrounding WD, it's making the CBC FM transmitter site across 85th street in an increasingly inconvenient location. In my opinion, that site would be the perfect hypothetical location for the rec centre/YMCA as they could fit in a larger parkade so that it's easier to use for the whole neighbourhood, not just people walking from WD. I'm not sure what the long-term plan is for that site but I don't anticipate the transmitter going anywhere any time soon.
 
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