ROADBLOCKS STALL CITY’S VISION FOR 16TH AVENUE N.
But new developments could be kickstart for vibrant corridor,
Back in 2011, with much fanfare, the City of Calgary completed the expansion and enhancement of 16th Avenue N. from 6th Street N.E. to 10th Street N.W. Originally budgeted at $20 million, the project more than quadrupled to $89 million as the project evolved from a simple addition of land east and west to creating an “urban corridor” that — in theory — would attract new mixed-use developments with commercial at street level and residential above.
In fact, a key reason for the increased cost of the project was the City’s acquisition of several sites to allow for immediate road expansion and future mixed-use development. Unfortunately, the new developments haven’t happened, resulting in several huge vacant lots along what should be a showcase for Calgary’s new urban sense of place.
Why no new developments? The City wants wider sidewalks while still retaining large rights of way on the remaining land, resulting in development sites that are too shallow for costeffective parkade designs that meet city standards.
The City’s Area Redevelopment Plan (ARP) zoned several key sites for major redevelopment, without considering how property lines or ownership were affected. Some sites owned by one entity were split into two zonings with different densities and heights, but still the City wants to see one building. This makes development complex and therefore costly.
The ARP on 16th Avenue N. also lacked input from experienced mixed-use developers, critical to understanding the complex financial considerations associated with creating viable zoning, heights, site access and uses for viable mixed-use development.
Some areas of 16th Avenue N. still have huge setbacks that sterilize key corners for viable pedestrian-friendly development. The City went out of its way to expand 16th Avenue N. to six lanes for vehicular traffic, recognizing its importance as a crucial east-west link, but then prohibited vehicular access except from rear lands.
The City left key pieces missing from expansion plans (e.g. the former gas station at 16th Avenue and 11th Street N.W.) where it didn’t expand sidewalks or address access, leaving the costs to the developer — and ultimately new residents — which in effect rules out competitively priced mixed-use projects.
Large sections of 16th Avenue N. on its south side are isolated, unpleasant and very noisy with giant sound walls reflecting traf- fic noise back at the pedestrians.
Chris Ollenberger, managing principal at QuantumPlace Developments Ltd. (and mastermind of the East Village master plans) thinks, “that while 16th Avenue expansion was a vehicle transportation-focused project, it is plagued by some questionable planning regulations that haven’t worked. It hasn’t realized the development the City planners were hoping for due to fiscal, physical, market and commercial considerations that didn’t have the voice needed during the planning process.”
Today, Ollenberger’s office is right on 16th Avenue N. at 10th Street W., and he has been working on three projects along the corridor. If anyone could make a project work on 16th Avenue, it would be him. He has observed that locals often use the back alley on the north side between 16th and 17th avenues as their east-west pedestrian corridor, avoiding 16th Avenue sidewalks altogether.
RISE OF 17TH AVENUE N.W.
Ironically, while 16th Avenue N. has struggled to attract development, 17th Avenue N. has been booming with new major residential developments on almost every block from Centre Street to 10th Street N.W.
One of these is the recently completed and sold out Attainable Homes’ 31-unit Mount Pleasant 1740 at the corner of 9th Street and 17th Avenue N.W. A bit further east under construc- tion is Trico’s Delaney, a 44-unit condo (12 units being affordable housing, of which 10 are wheelchair accessible). It is interesting to note the Delaney is oriented to the alley between 17th and 16th Avenue as per Ollenberger’s observation.
Further east, Castle Mountain Developments has dug the hole for Elm on 17th and two newer condos have also been completed and occupied.
The good news? This increased 17th Avenue N. residential development will ultimately make 16th Avenue N. more viable for commercial developments as they will provide the patrons needed to help make pubs, cafes, restaurants and so on viable.
GOOD NEWS FOR 16TH AVENUE N.W.
The Calgary Co-op, in conjunction with Quarry Bay Investments, has submitted a combined development permit and land use redesignation (re-zoning) application for its existing 16th Avenue N. site. The development proposes five buildings containing a new supermarket, liquor store, financial institution, office, gas bar, car wash, and 115 residential units.
The Marquee Group, a hotel developer turned condo developer, has also recently completed Marquee on 16th, a ninestorey, 138-home residential development on 16th Avenue at 1st Street N.E. Located near the Calgary Co-op site, these two developments could mark the beginning of a vibrant 16th Avenue urban streetscape.
Several interesting businesses along the north side of 16th Avenue — Aquila Books, Earls, the Cat’n Fiddle Pub, Turn It Up Records & HiFi, Guitar Works, Phoenix Comics, Namskar Fine East Indian restaurant and White’s Flowers — could become important building blocks for future pedestrian-oriented blocks.
As well, the City is working on making 16th Avenue N. a major cross-town BRT route, which should result in more pedestrian traffic on 16th (as transit users get off and on the bus) and remove some of the cars, helping with some of the noise.
LAST WORD
While in the past, 16th Avenue N. as part of the Trans-Canada Highway was car-oriented, that doesn’t mean it couldn’t also be pedestrian-oriented in the future. For example, Edmonton’s Whyte Avenue is a wide, caroriented street yet also a popular pedestrian destination. The same goes for South Granville in Vancouver.
Ironically, 16th Avenue N. is no longer the Trans-Canada Highway. Signs at both the east and west entrances to the City no longer direct drivers to take 16th Avenue N. but rather the ring road, bypassing the city altogether.
While 16th Avenue expansion was a vehicle transportation-focused project, it is plagued by some questionable planning regulations that haven’t worked.