THE EAST IS RISING, BE A PART OF IT!
CMLC envisions a reinvented east Victoria Park. Here’s how you can be part of the vision for this bold new culture and entertainment district.
From the developers who brought East Village dramatically back to life, Calgary Municipal Land Corporation (CMLC) is creating a vision for east Victoria Park known as the Rivers District, and they want to invite Calgarians to learn more, share their own vision, and connect online or at events across the city.
East Victoria Park is a part of downtown Calgary — including Stampede Park and the BMO Centre — that has long stood as the city’s entertainment epicentre. Rather than reinvent it as something it simply isn’t, CMLC imagines east Victoria Park as a vibrant, high-density, mixed-use community that draws on the spirit of entertainment that resides in its DNA, as well as its natural surroundings. In east Victoria Park, there’s the opportunity to infuse new energy and new life into the district while attracting developers that respect the community’s history and envisioned future.
CMLC’s 20-year vision for the Rivers District master plan is to create an authentic, connected, resilient, and vibrant culture and entertainment district featuring four million square feet of mixed-use development and over 8,000 new residents moving into a vibrant community in Calgary’s downtown east side.
The master plan imagines a community that resonates with thrill seekers and trend setters — for those who look for an active and action-packed lifestyle, and those whose dynamic and ambitious personalities seek an urban lifestyle community in which to live, work and build their families. Integrating into the city and established downtown neighbourhoods, the district will appeal not only by becoming the premier culture and entertainment destination of the region, but also by becoming home to those seeking the excitement and convenience of urban living.
Picture new places to work and explore, modernized amenities like an arena facility and expanded BMO centre, the Green Line LRT, diverse residential options with a spectrum of shopping and dining options... the list goes on. Integrating the existing urban fabric — including several heritage buildings, Calgary Stampede park and the Elbow River — and reshaping east Victoria Park as an active, walkable, accessible community with enhanced connections to adjacent neighbourhoods are among the most important goals.
As part of CMLC’s commitment of $150 million toward planning and infrastructure development in Rivers District, the first priority is critical connectors that tie together from a traffic, transportation planning and communitybuilding perspective. CMLC initiated redevelopment of East Village in much the same way — by determining how to ‘connect’ East Village to the core and to surrounding neighbourhoods while attracting development. In east Victoria Park, the master plan begins with the same focus on planning and designing for connectivity.
For example, the extension of 17th Avenue SE into Stampede Park will forge a pedestrian and vehicular link that increases connectivity and creates an attractive right of way for new retail and commercial development. Another example is the design and construction of a 5th Street SE underpass, a key piece of infrastructure and part of CMLC’s commitment to attracting investment while increasing the density, liveability, vibrancy and development potential of the area.
With a draft of the master plan now complete, CMLC is conducting a joint public engagement process with The City of Calgary, which is amending a portion of the Beltline Area Redevelopment Plan (ARP) to support the vision for the district. The joint engagement program spans across the city through multiple events.