Multi-family developments continue to spring up around the Westbrook LRT station, except on the property the city owns, and the area councillor said it’s disappointing.

Last week, Calgary city councillors approved a revised land-use at the Feb. 17 Public Hearing Meeting of Council on a property adjacent to the Westbrook LRT lands, located at the intersection of 14 Avenue and 33 Street SW.

It’s for a six-storey 127-unit, Truman Homes mixed-use, multi-family rental project that includes a mix of studio, one- and two-bedroom units.

“The development vision includes a range of home sizes from studio to two-bedrooms within a transit-oriented area served by a number of nearby amenities including grocery stores, public library, outdoor recreation, parks and variety of commercial good and services to meet residents’ daily needs,” read a written submission from Civicworks, the consultant representing Truman on the project.

Paul Needham with Civicworks said that through public consultation, which consisted of two rounds of area mailers and an on-site sign, they didn’t receive any direct feedback on the property. He did note a letter from the Shaganappi Community Association that had no objection to the project.

Needham said it was the third of three proposals by Truman along the 33 Street SW corridor, so people were familiar with working with the developer.

“Overall, it kind of was an application which they knew sort of what to expect from Truman specifically,” he said.

“It’s a tried and true builder in the area, so there weren’t really any surprises, or things that they had to sort of vet, knowing what we can deliver on.”

The Shaganappi Community Association’s submission to council reflected that, with a development permit being done concurrently, they’ve already reached out to Civicworks on an “improved building design.”

“The Shaganappi Community Association has reviewed the above noted application, has no basis to oppose this and will raise no objection,” they wrote in the letter.

“The new land use is appropriate for a lot of this scale, which is already surrounding by buildings of similar scale to the south.”

Development around Westbrook LRT, just not on it

It’s the latest development that’s set to spring to life in the area, though the biggest opportunity in the area remains untouched.

After languishing for years, the City of Calgary bought the Westbrook LRT lands back from Matco for $43 million in early 2024, representing a roughly $7.5 million profit from when they sold it to the developer back in 2016.

At that time, the City of Calgary said that they would be reviewing the existing land use and outline plan for the 10-acre parcel.

Ward 8 Coun. Nathan Schmidt asked Civicworks’ Needham how important it was to have sites like the Truman development, with some commercial, helping propel actual development on the Westbrook LRT site.

Needham said it creates a snowball effect by creating a sense of place, vibrancy and public realm integration perhaps one day helping unlock the Westbrook LRT potential.

“It’s building that momentum and hopefully carry on to that larger site where a larger master plan of some type can take hold and really get the value out of that land that has sort of been underutilized for many years,” he said.

In a response to an inquiry by LWC, the City of Calgary said that it is hoping to reimagine the parcel with new site uses, a new site design, and a development scheme that meets the current market trend for the area.

“A planning and design consultant has been hired and is currently in Phase 1 of their work.  This phase is exploratory to understand the current realities of the site and what can be changed to see development realized on the land,” read an email response.

“Conceptual design, public engagement, formal planning applications, and municipal planning approval will follow in subsequent phases in 2026.”

Recently, the City of Calgary announced that the Dobré Café was setting up shop at the site. That was the result of a 2024 expression of interest for vacant retail space at the Westbrook LRT station to help make stations more welcoming and convenient for riders.

Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good: Mayor, Coun. Schmidt

Coun. Schmidt said the Westbrook LRT station continues to be a missed opportunity. He said it’s frustrating to see such a prime piece of developable land continue to flounder.

“For however many years, we’re probably looking at about 15 years now, it has sat there vacant, at the city’s only underground CTrain station, which is the perfect place to build something that brings more people to the area,” he said.

Schmidt said that it’s a chance to show Calgarians how development around transit can be done.

He does recognize the site may have some constraints with a rail line running beneath it, and the dimensions of the site.

“That’s really where I think this idea that the perfect is the enemy of the good comes in, because we don’t have a perfect site as far as the land itself is concerned, but we have a perfect site to maximize the public good that comes from it,” he said.

The location happens to be the home stop for both Coun. Schmidt and Mayor Jeromy Farkas.

Farkas said there needs to be movement on the Westbrook site for a variety of reasons: Vibrancy, housing, property tax uplift and public safety with more people in the area.

“It’s well past time that we light a fire on this fire file, figuratively speaking. Of course, we need to move as fast as possible,” he said.

“Part of the challenge, from my perspective, is that for far too long, we’ve let the perfect be the enemy of the good.”

Farkas said that the City of Calgary can’t wait for another 15 years to pass before something is done. He said a long-term comprehensive plan for the site is good, but one that can be developed in phases.

“I think we’re now in a moment in time where there’s capital at play with the federal government, provincial governments as well, where if the city is in for a part of it, at least from an affordable housing standpoint, that could reduce the barrier to entry for some of our private sector partners,” Farkas said.

CMLC involvement?

The Calgary Municipal Land Corporation recently took on the transit-oriented development at three other Calgary sites: Anderson LRT station, the Fish-Creek Lacombe LRT station, and the Dalhousie LRT station.

They are not involved in the Westbrook LRT site.

When asked back in January, CMLC president and CEO Kate Thompson said that Westbrook LRT is a great site in Calgary’s portfolio.

“A lot of people have a lot of opinions about it. Right now, the City of Calgary is leading the charge on looking at the design potential of that site,” she said.

“As a wholly owned subsidiary of the City of Calgary, we’re always here and have conversations with the city and supporting them in their development questions or concerns.”

Coun. Schmidt said it’s a conversation worth having with CMLC.

“With so much already on their plate, we need to ensure that they have the capacity to do this, or that we provide them with what they need,” Schmidt said.

Mayor Farkas isn’t opposed to the idea of having CMLC take on the Westbrook LRT site. He felt, however, that there should be a competitive process to ensure whoever oversees the sites has a track record of success.

He also said that he’d want to make sure they weren’t cannibalizing development that would otherwise happen in the East Village, which has an attached Community Revitalization Levy.

Aside from that, he said it makes logical sense to have CMLC be a partner at the site.

“I also think that we need to take a look at what the long-term overall benefit is for our Real Estate and Development Services (RE&DS) internally, they’re not really tasked with the big picture questions of placemaking, what’s best for the city overall,” Farkas said.

“They’re looking at just the dollars and cents of the land portfolio from a financial investment standpoint. They aren’t looking at the other harder to quantify, but still very visible measures like placemaking, like vibrancy, public safety.

“Given I have a little bit of bias here, but Westbrook station is the station I get on for my regular commutes in on the train, I think there’s a demand from the community to move faster on investments like this, because it helps tackle some of the safety challenges that Calgarians are experiencing.”