New Calgary arena clears city hurdle after hours-long debate
CBC
The Calgary Planning Commission approved the development permit on Thursday night for the new events centre meant to replace the iconic Saddledome in Victoria Park.
The permit is one of the final hurdles developers needed to clear before construction starts, slated for January 2022. It was approved 8-0 after an hours-long debate that ended near 10 p.m.
Ward 7 councillor and member of the planning commission, Terry Wong, says he still has issues with some of the design elements. But he says the building does meet the goals of the Rivers District master plan and it will be a catalyst for development. "This is not an arena. This is an event centre, a community gathering place. This is a place where we're going to build residential communities around it…This has got to be a building that's 365-day activation, inside or outside that building, people are going to want to be there," Wong said.
The plan includes making the building carbon neutral by 2035, including solar panels on 70 per cent of the roof and connecting the building to the District Energy Centre on Ninth Avenue.
This comes as Calgary city council voted 13-2 to declare a climate emergency on Monday night.
The arena will be located at the intersection of Olympic Way and 12 Avenue S.E. and was designed by local firm Dialog Architecture and global firm HOK.
Over the past few months, some local groups have expressed dissatisfaction with the design of the events centre. The latest renderings of the proposed building were released in late October.
The city received letters from the Beltline Neighbourhood Association (BNA) and Inglewood Community Association and Victoria Park Business Improvement Area (BIA) concerning pedestrian accessibility, environmental impact of the building and how it will be integrated into the neighbourhood.
"There is a need to mitigate our collective environmental footprint and demonstrate real leadership when it comes to the development of major municipal infrastructure," wrote Tyson Bolduc, director of planning and urban development for BNA in an August letter to the city.
The BNA said the planned parking garage in the building sends the wrong message about Calgary's environmental priorities when there are already transit stations and outdoor parking nearby.
Though the city said the future Green Line Light Rail Transit (LRT) will have a station near the centre, the Victoria Park BIA said in a September letter that there was not enough consideration given to the centre's integration with the Green Line.
"Having discussed this with the property owner where the station is being contemplated, we feel that a significant opportunity is being missed to enhance public transit to the site," the letter said.
According to the development permit, the city also received 34 letters of support and four letters opposing the construction of the arena from the public.
The events centre project had previously been halted over escalating costs earlier this year. But then the city and the Calgary Flames agreed to each pay $12.5 million more than originally planned to construct the building.
Diane Sims has already written her own obituary.
Thirty years after her murder in 1994, Halifax police are still looking for Kimber Leanne Lucas's killer.
When Kevin Campbell took a 1991 Chevy truck in trade at his dealership on Moncton's Salisbury Road in early November, he didn't have it for long.
Quebec mayor says 'one-size-fits-all' language law isn't right for his town where French is thriving
English is not Daniel Côté's first language but he says it's integral to the town he calls home.
As their role in health care continues to grow, nurse practitioners across Canada are looking to Alberta, where nurse practitioners recently formed their own union — but on P.E.I., the nurses' union that represents them says it's doing its job.
As the fallout over fallen buildings in Gore Park continues, Hamilton officials will be turning their attention to other properties.
Fire crews responded to a transport truck fire on the Ambassador Bridge connecting Windsor and Detroit.
When the government touts that its auto insurance reforms might curb premiums by $400 come 2027, the ministers and premier don't readily mention what's to come in the three years leading up to that.
Who poses the greater threat to the free speech of Conservative MPs — the Speaker of the House of Commons or the leader of the Conservative Party?
As city council prepares to vote on a temporary shelter village for people experiencing homelessness in Thunder Bay, Ont., opposition is growing among the area's business community.
A Toronto centre for Black art is hosting an exhibition this weekend that exclusively features work by artists from across the African diaspora.