Iconic Calgary country music venue Ranchman’s is on the move this year, making way for a new development at its Macleod Trail location.

This year will be the final year at its Macleod Trail South spot, where it’s anchored Calgary’s country music scene for the past 54 years.

Still, it’s not the final two-step for the storied club, as they have leased a new, larger location nearby.

Ranchman’s Cookhouse and Dancehall marketing director Wendy Daniels said that 2026 will be a milestone year for them. They are planning a full year of concerts, community celebrations and events to mark their historic Macleod Trail run.

“We’re proud of where we’ve been. We’re excited about where Ranchman’s is going next and look forward to sharing more in the months ahead,” she said.

“We intend to send it off properly, with our stage active and our dance floor full.”

The Macleod Trail site is a prime location for a planned mixed-use residential location spearheaded by the Deveraux Group of Companies and Lansdowne Equity Ventures.

The Macleod Trail S Urban Main Street Area is mentioned in the Heritage Communities Local Area Plan, and it calls for the creation of high-quality public realm and buildings on the Urban Main Street, with a mix of residential and employment opportunities.

“The Plan provides varying building scales in the Urban Main Street area that range from the low (six storeys or less) to the highest (over 26 storeys), with higher building scales focused around transit stations and key nodes,” one of the supporting documents read.

Sameer Remtulla, senior vice president of real estate and project development with Deveraux, told LWC that the area is ripe for revitalization. They worked with the Ranchman’s team to not only preserve the site’s history but also ensure that they could continue on well into the future.

“When you’re looking at the Macleod Trail corridor, it is a very important corridor to the city, and so there needs to be a lot of intention put to redevelopment efforts. Infrastructure ages over time, and really the reinvestment reinvigorates the area,” he said.

High-level plans for the area

Preliminary plans for the new Ranchman’s Village (named in homage to the site’s cultural significance in Calgary) were submitted to the City of Calgary earlier this week, and Deveraux will ramp up the detailed planning process over the course of 2026.

Right now, the vision calls for five mid-rise (six-storey buildings) that would include a commercial main street with a grand plaza geared towards a pedestrian experience. There will be five storeys of residential planned above the ground floor commercial spaces.

“Then, part of the Deveraux typical product is we centralize everything to a central amenity center for our residents, which will include fitness, golf simulators, outdoor pool, barbecue lounge areas, D-work areas, which are co-working spaces, and more with the focus is on being amenity-rich for residents,” Remtulla said.

With infrastructure impact a high priority in Calgary, Remtulla acknowledged that they would be contributing off-site levies to help pay for any infrastructure improvements for the area. They expect to begin construction in early 2027, with tentative completion by late 2028.

The developers were committed to ensuring the legacy of Ranchman’s continued well into the future, even though it would be at a different place.

“We understand how important Ranchman’s has been to Calgary for decades and we want to pay homage to its legacy,” said Denis Jones, president and CEO of Deveraux.

“The proposed redevelopment, named Ranchman’s Village, is about reinvesting in this section of Macleod Trail corridor while making sure the character and stories that matter to the community continue.”

In 2020, COVID nearly ended the famed bar’s run in Calgary, closing it down while the world recovered. In 2022, it reopened to huge fanfare.

Ranchman’s will continue operating through 2026, though the venue, long a staple of Calgary Stampede festivities, will celebrate its final rodeo at this location this year.

More information on their transition is expected to come later in 2026.