Fate of Highland Park Development in question after drainage study results

The owner of the Highland Park Development site says the city didn’t weigh all its options when looking at how to tackle drainage issues for the embattled project.

The nearly 2,100-unit mixed-use residential development, slated to break ground on the former Highland Park golf course, has had significant pushback from area residents.

Council approved the project in March 2017 pending the results of a groundwater study published last week, with the city saying the proposed development could cause excess flooding in the Confederation Creek catchment area.

The study outlined five options to improve drainage and mitigate flooding, including a $300-million water diversion to the Bow River, but found building multiple storage ponds on the site is the most feasible recommendation, at an estimated cost of $35 million.

But Ajay Nehru, president of Vancouver-based Maple Projects Inc., said that option would mean his development project would have to be scrapped, leaving the city and taxpayers on the hook to buy the land back at an additional cost.

“I represent less than one per cent of this area, and (the city) owns a lot of this area,” Nehru said. “So what would it take for me to build my development?

“Well, it would just take them finding somewhere else to put 180,000 cubic metres of water, and I have two engineering firms who have shown them where they can do it.”

As part of the development, Nehru said Maple Projects planned to twin an existing storm duct on the property to increase drainage.

Francois Bouchart, city manager of infrastructure planning and water resources, said that proposal would not meet the needs of “the entire catchment,” which includes Confederation Park golf course and Queen’s Park Cemetery.

A large portion of the development site is also owned by the Crown, and the study says the feasibility of building storage ponds hinges on “estimated costs to acquire all, or a portion of ” the 6,700-acre area.

“That ($35 million) number doesn’t include the cost of acquiring the land,” Nehru said. “But having said that, what we’re saying is there are a lot more options … that will cost the taxpayers of the city of Calgary a hell of a lot less money.”

Troy Gonzalez, community planner with the city, said it’s too early to tell how much of the site the city could purchase and at what cost.

The Highland Park Community Association has long been outspoken about its opposition to the project. But the group’s president, Elise Bieche, said she’s open to development on the site so long as it’s done with the environment and community in mind.

“I think that the best outcome would be that the city purchases the entire site … and then if there’s anything left to develop, that some kind of partnership be created between private industry and a level of government.”