Approval of a land-use change in southwest Calgary means a 196-unit affordable housing complex at the site of a former YMCA will move ahead.
Calgary city councillors unanimously approved the change of a Special Purpose – Recreation site at the corner of Heritage Drive and Haddon Road SW to a Mixed Use – General during the June 10 Public Hearing Meeting of city council.
That opens the door to a six-storey, mixed-use building called Boro Block, which will provide 196 units and 248 square metres of commercial retail space, and a daycare, in a property operated by the Liberty Housing Organization.
Tenants at the location will have a qualifying income of less than $65,000 annually, and rental rates will be less than 68 per cent of Calgary’s annual median market rent, according to a presentation the group made to council on Tuesday.
The land, the former site of a YMCA that was closed down in 2010, is a 1.5-acre parcel that was made available through the City of Calgary’s non-market land sale program.
“Liberty is very excited about the location of the site, which is an ideal spot for affordable housing. Not only is Boro block located right beside the heritage LRT station,” said Joanna Patton, an urban planner with CivicWorks, who represented Liberty on the file.
“Future residents will also have excellent access to schools, parks, recreation centers, community amenities, grocery stores, businesses along the cloud trail, all within a five-to-10-minute walk.”
According to Patton, this location is the largest parcel delivered under the non-market program, with the greatest number of affordable housing units.
The Haysboro Community Association wrote a letter of general support for the project. They asked for a step-back at the fifth storey to comply with the Heritage Local Area Plan.
“It must also be noted that nearby residents are very concerned about traffic (vehicle, pedestrian, and cyclist) levels associated with all three developments proposed for the area… and we’ve not received any mobility (traffic) study to date,” the community wrote.
Patton said they introduced the stepping for a more “sensitive building height transition” at their location.
‘Least favourite site in Haysboro’: Coun. Penner
The community also wanted to ensure that the city or the developer adhered to the Heritage LAP when it came to developing a public space plan for the area around the Heritage LRT Station.
“Our goal is to see a development that not only meets the needs of new residents but also respects the character and values of the existing community,” their letter read.
Ward 11 Coun. Kourtney Penner said ever since she’s been in office, there’s been a persistent question around the former YMCA location: “What is going to happen with the site?”
“This is my least favorite site in Haysboro. Actually, maybe all of Ward 11, but it’s soon to become, for sure, maybe my most,” Penner said.
“Between this and a few other applications that are happening around the Heritage transit station, I think that there are almost close to 1,000 new units in that area alone. While that might seem like a lot of people, that is incredible vibrancy around our transit stations, and going to really show that the work that we are doing, not only through the Local Area Plan process, but through the Housing Strategy is really translating into units, and that is very exciting for our city.”
Ward 7 Coun. Terry Wong said he’s sent a lot of newcomers down to the Haysboro area as it’s close to transit, shopping and employment centres.
“Having this type of development is an ideal place to put in density,” he said.
“It’s on a good corridor next to the LRT station.”
The key, however, was the addition of the daycare, Wong said. He called it a “vitally important” amenity for young families.
The project development permit still requires approval; however, Patton said the construction team is targeting construction start in December 2025 with occupancy in 2027.
They said they’d be meeting with the community to discuss a construction plan.
