Phase one of the long-anticipated George Moss Park in the community of Ogden has officially completed, and already community members are flocking to the new amenities.

Among those draws were a brand-new playground, and two half-sized and a full-sized basketball court.

In a dual announcement to coincide with the official opening of the park on Sept. 7, the Parks Foundation Calgary revealed plans for a fully funded phase two, which will see the development of a dedicated bike pump track and a skateboard court.

Parks Foundation Calgary CEO Sheila Taylor said that longstanding efforts by community members from the Millican Ogden community guided the $800,000 phase one redevelopment.

“It’s all about what the community wants and what the community needs, and helping work with them to bring that to life. We have heard for years about please bring us places to skateboard. Please bring more biking amenities. The number one desire was basketball, which is why we focused on it first, but this is absolutely from the people of Ogden, for the people of Ogden,” Taylor said.

Taylor said that the goal was to turn an underutilized space into one that would meet community members’ needs, and that meant creating a park that had a little bit of something for everyone.

Among the attractions, in addition to the sport and play amenities, include seating areas and court-top mural paintings by local artist Cassie Suche, who has done public art pieces in Ramsay, the Downtown Core, and in the East Village River Walk.

“It makes you want to come and be part of something beautiful… probably the biggest request that we get, surprisingly, from the public, is just, ‘can we have places to go and sit outside,'” said Taylor.

“When you think about seniors or people with mobility issues or parents, they want a place to spend time, hang out and be part of what’s going on with the kids. So even having that seating makes the space much more welcoming.”

The opening eschewed the typical ribbon cutting for something a little different.

Ward 9 Coun. Gian-Carlo Carra went head-to-head with Minister of Arts, Culture, and Status of Women Tanya Fir to see who could land the first basket in a bit of friendly competition.

Coun. Carra took the win, and the honour of the park opening for the City of Calgary, over the province.

Helping kids in an underserved area of Calgary

Jane Wachowich, Executive Director for the Youth Centres of Calgary, said that her organization chose Ogden because it was a place where youth needed a safe place to be kids, to have access to unlimited food when they needed it, and to have access to mentors who care about their well being.

“As it turns out, dozens of these kids fly through our doors every day. Hundreds are registered. We have new Canadians who call Ogden home, you have a higher than average density of school-aged kids a community with heart, kindness, immense pride. You roll up your sleeves and you shovel each other’s walks. You tend to the outdoor rink in minus 30, you punch above your weight in social housing and welcome new people,” she said.

“It’s also a community that is geographically, socially and economically isolated, bound by tracks, freeways and industry. You have this massive green space, and yet there was nowhere where kids could go to play. This community felt just right for our little Youth Center.”

As a community, according to statistics from the 2021 Census of Canada, Ogden has a slightly higher percentage of households spending 30 per cent or more of their total income on shelter and is on average $22,500 below the median household income for Calgary households of $98,000.

It also was 10 per cent higher than the Calgary average of 15 per cent of households being one-parent households.

Wachowich said that safety concerns though, because of the 74 Avenue SE roadway, meant that kids didn’t have a good place to play basketball, bike ride, or skateboard.

“Balls dribbled on the roads, popped over our fence into traffic. The skateboards and helmets have collected dust unused because of the road safety factor. Then one day, a conversation with Gian-Carlo—our city councillor—catalyzed a chain of events, and the file landed square on the desk of Sheila [Taylor], who, true to form, brought in very generous stakeholders, quickly worked their magic, and here we are today.”

Funders from government, private sector, foundations, and the Green Line

Among those funding partners were the City of Calgary, the Government of Alberta, the Calgary Foundation, the Calgary Flames Foundation, Thornhill Child Care, the Sofina Foundation—whose parent company Sofina saw the demolition of the Lilydale factory in Ogden to make way for the Green Line—and the Green Line itself.

Coun. Carra called the park an unpainted canvas, which for years was awaiting a new design.

“I can’t wait to ride my bike here with my son. I can’t wait to see the kids of the neighbourhood spilling out of the Mustard Seed and the Youth Centers using this incredible space, and I want to thank especially the Parks Foundation,” he said.

“There’s a lot of canvas left to paint, and I’m looking forward to seeing the rest of that come together.”

In his speech though, Coun. Carra said that there was a lot of struggle on what to say.

George Moss Park was set to be a block away from a planned Green Line station. Last week, the province pulled funding for the City of Calgary’s current alignment of the $6.25 billion transit line, forcing the city to explore a wind-down of the project. In a new provincial alignment, this site would likely stay near a part of the southeast LRT.

“I will always be outrageously bitter about the maybe billion dollars to be determined, of money that we burnt up. But I take solace in the fact that some of that money is not burnt up. It’s invested in places like this, and I’m confident that, as the city grows, we have to build transit to connect it,” said Coun. Carra.

“I will say that indications are that the provincial government is recognizing that they acted incredibly rashly and that they have to fix it, and I welcome them fixing it.”

Coun. Carra though thanked Minister Fir for continuing to put money from her ministry into Calgary arts and parks.

“I think Tanya is a minister who is showing up for her ministry and showing up for her constituents, and I’ll always give credit where credit is due. Hopefully, some conciliatory words can help move some of the more ridiculous positions taken by other corners of the government that she represents,” Carra.

Phase two to come in 2025

Phase two of the project, which is estimated to cost $2 million, is expected to be completed after the next summer construction season in 2025.

Among the amenities to be developed as part of phase two include a full skate park and a bike pump track—both disconnected from each other by a pathway and community gathering space area.

“It will be like nothing you have ever seen, nothing in Calgary, and it will turn this area into a transformational space that will be the hub of the community,” said Taylor.

The combination of amenities would be a first-of-its-kind for Calgary.

She said that the entire project was funded, thanks to generous donations by a pair of longtime Calgarians with deep roots in the community, Greg and Joanne Martin.

“Having a major donor like this, it blew us away. It’s not unprecedented, but it’s extremely rare to have a donor come forward. What I hope is that when people see examples like this, they appreciate the spaces even more, because they know it was a result of individual donors coming forward and doing it,” Taylor said.

“But then maybe it also inspires others to take part. Whether or not it’s being generous with their time, their talents or making donations.”