We’re getting closer to seeing the designs of the new Calgary Event Centre, but citizens will have to wait until at least the summer.
An Event Centre committee meeting has been called for Monday, May 6, where it’s expected that all of Calgary city council will get an update on the $1.2 billion development. It will, however, be done behind closed doors.
Event Centre Committee chair, Ward 1 Coun. Sonya Sharp, said that it’s been a few months since they’ve publicly discussed timelines for ground-breaking on the arena project. Now, they’re getting ready for the development permit application to hit the Calgary Planning Commission.
“It’s only fair that members of council and the committee get to review these before it goes to Calgary Planning Commission. After that, we’ll proceed along the timeline to development permit,” Sharp said.
Work to prepare the area for project construction is underway. In February, the Event Centre design team submitted two development permit applications that allowed for stripping and grading of the area, and shoring and excavating.
Next comes the development permit for the Event Centre Block.
“By sequencing the permit applications in this way, we can schedule the work and trades required to begin the excavation process as soon as the design of the Event Centre Block is complete,” reads the Event Centre website.
Work has also begun on the reconfiguration of 5 Street SE to make way for the arena, along with utility work and site clean-up.
Yahoo for the Event Centre design?
Sharp said the Calgary Planning Commission will review the development permit in the early stages and again later in October or November. It will follow the same process as other large Calgary developments, like Arts Commons, Sharp said.
OK, but what about designs?
Calgarians nearly unanimously condemned the prior design, saying things like it looked like a department store, a printer, or the inside of a heater. Ultimately, citizens settled on it being just plain bland and uninspired. Further, it lacked real consideration for how it interacted with the street.
Sharp said there’s no definitive date for the release of the new designs.
“I’m hoping that we’ll be able to showcase what this will look like during Stampede because we want to be able to be proud of a project like this when we have so many investors and so many visitors to the city,” she said.
“I’m hopeful that we’ll be able to be public with it within the beginning of the summer.”
