Century Gardens redevelopment news

[newsposter]

The original posting was accidentally deleted. In 2009, a development proposal was made that would have required a land swap of the northern portion of Century Gardens (along where the C-Train station is now) to a developer to create a building on that site, while providing to the City land on the NW corner of the block. This would have required huge changes to Century Gardens, a Calgary centennial project and heritage inventory site. City Council changed the land use (zoning) in anticipation of the project and the land swap... but it did not happen. Subsequently there has been consultation and work on what to do with the park (see the posts below), and as of August 2013 the zoning decision of 2009 is proposed to be reversed.

[cjane]

Last year a review of Century Gardens was conducted by the City of Calgary Parks to determine redevelopment opportunities, and to provide guidelines for the park. The report was prompted by a recent land swap proposal that would have drastically altered the existing footprint of the park. Lucky for the park the proposal fell through...this time.

The complete report can be found on the City of Calgary web site at:
http://www.calgary.ca/CSPS/Parks/Pages/ ... pment.aspx

In summary, the report found that:
- Century Gardens is highly valued by those who use it... In particular, the various water features are held in high regard – more than half of park users interviewed expressed liking them, and/or wanting such features in their ideal park.
- When asked about issues or concerns facing Century Gardens, the most frequent response given was “none”.
- Users strongly support retaining the water fountain in the SW Corner in any future park redevelopment efforts.”
- “Water Features”, including such things as ponds and fountains, was the single most frequently mentioned ideal park feature. But the most frequent “first mention” was “Natural Features” within the park...
- …almost half (48 %) of those who initially reported that keeping the fountain is “not very important” indicated that their opinion would change with the knowledge that the fountain is a heritage feature.

The report remarks that “the unique features of the park, most notably the water features, are held in very high regard among park visitors; retaining these features in general, and the heritage fountain specifically, is of high importance to people who enjoy visiting Century Gardens Park.”

[newsposter]

The project to "redevelop" Century Gardens, deemed by the Calgary Heritage Authority to be a heritage resource of citywide significance, has re-started as of November 2012 with the hiring of architects and a continuation of the stakeholder process (see previous posts).

Link to the City's project page:
http://www.calgary.ca/CSPS/Parks/Pages/ ... pment.aspx

Link to the heritage inventory entry:
http://www.calgary.ca/PDA/LUPP/Pages/He ... ourceId=66

[cjane]

A recent Century Gardens Stakeholder meeting provided an introduction between Calgary's Heritage and Parkour Communities. Who knew that such seemingly diverse groups share the same interest in Calgary's Centennial Park?

To see how the Park can REALLY be used, check out the Youtube videos linked below. The pre-cast concrete structure at the SW corner of the park, combined with the water features, are a key attraction for urban movement and parkour. In fact, Century Gardens is becoming increasingly renowned as a destination for parkour practitioners worldwide attracting teams from France, Russia, the States, the UK and the Philippines. It has also helped to develop a strong relationship between Calgary and the World Freerunning Parkour Federation (http://wfpf.com/) which has approached a Calgary company (BPk Industries) to co-host an upcoming Art of Motion international parkour competition.

[newsposter]

Urban gymnasts, heritage group worried about park plan
Iconic 8th Avenue, 8th Street S.W. park, Century Gardens, in need of upgrade, says city

CBC News Posted: Dec 4, 2012 11:16 AM MT

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/s ... velop.html

Story, podcast and links...

[newsposter]

Article in the March edition of Avenue about the Century Gardens issue. Includes comments from CHI president Cynthia Klaassen among others...

http://www.avenuecalgary.com/articles/c ... ues-debate

[newsposter]

Going to CPC on August 29, 2013, the reversal of land use (zoning) changes made in 2009 in anticipation of a proposed development and land swap that would have changed the configuation of Century Gardens - but did not happen. The City is now looking at renovations to Century Gardens within its original/status quo footprint. Read above.

http://www.calgary.ca/_layouts/cocis/Di ... ect=1&sf=

[newsposter]

Century Gardens when it was shiny and new in the mid 1970s. Note the +15 that used to go over 8th Avenue, demolished in the 1990s. This photo prior to construction of the Nova (Nexen) building, which commenced constuction in 1979. Source: Leigh Anthony Dehaney http://www.flickr.com/photos/zyphichore/ via a Flickr gallery curated by Fereth http://www.flickr.com/photos/ferreth/ga ... 372354914/

[Admin]

The 1975 urban park opened for Calgary’s centennial, and while it continues to see plenty of traffic from commuters and downtown residents, its age is showing.

BY JASON MARKUSOFF, CALGARY HERALD OCTOBER 5, 2014



For years, Century Gardens park has been a pleasant lunching spot for some, a thoroughfare to the LRT for others, and a sketchy concrete stairwell for discreet public urination for a few.

The west downtown park’s new redevelopment plans are intended to preserve many of its most popular and historic features — including the architecturally significant concrete fountains ­­— and try to quash what parks planner Michelle Reid politely calls the “perception of undesirable activity.”

Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/calga ... story.html

[Fragile]

Take a walk through Century Gardens with Sheldon Quinn, the architect who designed it!