Downtown Media Coverage
Below are interesting articles written about Calgary's downtown core.
How walkable is your neighbourhood?
October 9, 2011 / source: Calgary Herald
“I don’t drive very much,” says Peters, 35, working in her yard on a sunny afternoon. “I just like being close to work downtown without having to drive and the river paths around here are excellent.”
Peters lives in what’s considered to be one of Calgary’s most “walkable” neighbourhoods, the kind of place where she can live much of her life without a car.
That may seem a rare thing in Calgary, a relatively young North American city largely engineered for the automobile.
Few seemed shocked when this year’s civic census revealed 70 per cent of Calgarians drove alone on their most recent trip to work.
But a survey for the Herald’s Project Calgary suggests many people want to live like Peters. [read more]
Snow means no street parking
October 5, 2011 / source: Calgary Herald
City council has OK'd a snowfall parking ban to clear clogged streets, but the Calgary Downtown Association worries it will hurt businesses.
On some 1,000 kilometres of major and neighbourhood streets, a decent-sized snowstorm will mean a 72-hour ban on parking, and the city has proposed the same on all downtown avenues, as well. [read more]
Move to impose snowstorm parking ban a step closer
September 21, 2011 / source: Calgary Herald
The city will temporarily lose thousands of curbside parking spots but gain much faster, more efficient snow plowing if aldermen next month adopt parking limits during snowstorms, city officials predict.
A council committee took the first step Tuesday by unanimously supporting the roads department's plan for 72-hour parking bans along major roads and bus routes when the city declares a "snow event."
It would briefly eliminate 15 per cent of all curbside parking in the city. [read more]
Neill family leaves behind legacy in downtown Calgary
September 19, 2011 / source: Calgary Herald
CALGARY — David Neill has always had a passion for redeveloping heritage buildings.
And over the years, the president of Encorp has left his mark on downtown Calgary with his vision for the Alberta Hotel Building, Fashion Central and Art Central — three properties in the core which were revitalized to add more consumer appeal for downtown shoppers and retailers.
[read more]
Looking to park downtown? Online service shows you where
August 26, 2011 / source: Calgary Herald
In the long days of summer when the weather is fine and many are on holiday, it seems like no problem to find a spot in a downtown parkade.
But come winter, cold snaps will cause a rush of motorists to seek shelter for their vehicles and parkades can soon hit capacity.
To help drivers find a spot, the Calgary Parking Authority has launched a new website that gives real time information on availability in its seven innercity parkades. [read more]
Restaurant operators learning how to share turf with food trucks
August 17, 2011 / source: Calgary Herald
When Brendan Bankowski looks at a map of the city to determine where to park his Perogy Boyz food truck each day to sell gourmet dumplings, he sees a lot of choice.
"Where you can go is 95 per cent of the map," said Bankowski. "There's a lot of places we can go."
But the conditions and guidelines established for the food truck pilot program include some specific prohibitions on where the city's eight new mobile cuisine stands can and can't operate. [read more]
Allied Properties REIT purchases Calgary buildings
August 17, 2011 / source: Calgary Herald
CALGARY — Allied Properties Real Estate Investment Trust has made a huge move into Calgary’s commercial real estate market.
In just over a year, the REIT has purchased five Calgary properties in the downtown and Beltline areas and closes in the near future on the acquisition of four additional properties including the Cooper Block (809 10th Ave. S.W.), the Alberta Hotel Building (801 1st St. S.W.), Fashion Central (804 1st St. S.W.) and Art Central (100 7th Ave. S.W.), the Herald has learned.
Michael Emory, president and chief executive of the REIT, said once all acquisitions take place, at a cost of $142 million, it will own nine buildings in Calgary, representing 392,000 square feet of rentable area. The REIT might also set up a corporate office in Calgary in September in the Art Central building to handle its growing Western Canadian portfolio. [read more]
Calgary among safest cities in Canada: StatsCan
July 22, 2011 / source: Calgary Herald
Calgary ranks among the safest cities in Western Canada, and crimes committed in Canada were down five per cent in 2010, according to recent figures. [read more]
City’s $28-million cycling strategy unveiled Cyclists take wait-and-see approach to latest offering
June 16, 2011 / source: FFWD
If the city’s recently released cycling strategy were a bicycle it would be a fairly basic model: frame, two wheels, single-gear, brakes, hard seat and maybe a bell.
“There’s not much there,” says Chris Alig, co-chair of the Calgary Pathways and Bikeways Advisory Council (CPAC) of the long awaited strategy. “They have this goal of becoming a premier cycling city, but the bit between… isn’t going to deliver that.” [read more]
Iconic Bow skyscraper looking for high-end retailers
June 7, 2011 / source: Calgary Herald
The iconic Bow skyscraper is looking for “best-in-class” businesses to step forward and fill the retail space in the new building in the heart of downtown Calgary.
[read more]
Cost stalls bid to beautify downtown alleys
April 26, 2011 / source: Calgary Herald
The Downtown Calgary Association is looking at new ways to clean up back alleys following a report released Monday detailing Dumpster-free lanes and back alleys.
The idea of Dumpster-free alleys was first put to city council in 2007, with a pilot project approved in cer-tain inner-city areas.
The new report deems the pilot project a success, reducing the number of "problem" industrial-sized trash receptacles in back alleys from 250 down to 70. [read more]
Improvements sought for Plus 15 network
February 10, 2011 / source: Metro Calgary
Bolstering Calgary’s downtown Plus 15 network will be a hot agenda topic this summer if a local real estate advocacy group has anything to say about it.
The Building Owners and Managers Association of the Greater Calgary Region met with city officials last week and intends to go before a standing committee with proposals to improve the network in July, said Bill Partridge, executive vice-president. [read more]
Sociale, The Lougheed Building
February 4, 2011 / source: Swerve Calgary
On the evening of February 11, 1915, a downtown hotspot was poised to get even hotter. Angered that "alien labour" was taking jobs away from patriotic Canadians during the First World War, soldiers threatened to demolish Cronn's Rathskeller unless the establishment's Teutonic name ( "rathskeller" is German for a restaurant in the basement of a city hall, not a plea to call a rat catcher) was removed from the electric sign outside the Lougheed Building. [read more]
A head chef to write HOME about
February 3, 2011 / source: FFWD Weekly
It’s Wednesday night and we’re driving downtown for dinner at Stephen Avenue’s latest hot spot, HOME Tasting Room. Usually downtown Calgary is a ghost town on weekdays, but not tonight. Between a Flames game and theatre season, Stephen Avenue is in full swing — and parking is not fun. You’ve been forewarned.
Arriving at HOME, we discover a large room. Even though the room is one-third full, it feels empty in comparison to the size of the space. Based on the name, I was hoping for a cozier, more intimate setting. But like any review night, we’re not here for the room — we’re here to see what HOME is serving up. [read more]
Free fare zone to be extended?
January 31, 2011 / source: Metro Calgary
As three Calgary aldermen push to extend the LRT free-fare zone one stop south to Victoria-Stampede station, some local businesses near the northwest line are asking for the same reprieve.
Removing fare requirements for Sunnyside station — the first stop after 7th Avenue on the northwest line — would provide added incentive for shoppers in the nearby Kensington district, said Jonathan Kane, owner of The Naked Leaf. [read more]
Ticket to success
January 22, 2011 / source: Calgary Sun
Calgary motorists picked up nearly $15 million in city-imposed parking fines last year — a record amount.
And the city’s parking authority is near the top among major western Canadian metropolitan areas in the per capita number of tickets it issues and money it collects from them.
In 2010, the body handed out 281,000 parking tickets — enough to assess $14.6 million in fines in this city of 1.1 million people. [read more]
Need a taxi? Find a hydrant
January 11, 2011 / source: Metro Calgary
Parking space reserved for fire hydrants could be used to boost the number of taxi stands in Calgary’s downtown core.
Troy McLeod, the city’s traffic manager, has begun discussing the concept of opening nearly 140 spaces where hydrants are located and parking is prohibited to taxis.
“The premise is this space is not used during the day, generally,” he said. “It’s for emergency purposes only.” [read more]
Downtown drug sweep targets temptation
December 16, 2010 / source: Metro Calgary
Calgary police say a three-week operation to root out drug traffickers in the downtown core has yielded “significant” results.
A total of 39 suspects have been identified as police have made 61 undercover drug purchases.
Acting Insp. Craig Skelton said the operation was launched in response to numerous concerns from social agencies — namely, those in the East Village area — and from other individuals in the downtown. [read more]
12 late-night taxi stands serve partiers
December 15, 2010 / source: Calgary Herald
After years of demands from club owners and a public tired of waiting in the cold to find a roving cab at 2 a.m. on the weekend, the city has introduced 12 late-night taxi stands throughout the inner city.
The announcement of cab-only parking zones between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m. on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays came a day before city council reviews a report saying that closing time on weekends has become the period of Calgary's worst cab shortages. [read more]
Time to taste downtown lifestyle
November 27, 2010 / source: Calgary Herald
For many Calgarians, the holiday season is one of the few times they venture downtown.
Maybe they're doing some Christmas shopping -- yes, there are some gifts you can only find downtown -- or perhaps attending a spouse's holiday party at a signature downtown hotel or the Calgary Convention Centre.
Maybe it's an annual family outing, such as the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra's Christmas concert, Theatre Calgary's A Christmas Carol, or Alberta Theatre Project's Seussical The Musical.
For many suburbanites, it is an opportunity to get a taste of what living downtown might be like.
I encourage Calgarians who haven't been downtown for awhile to check it out over the holiday season. [read more]
Valet service at The Core of Christmas shopping
November 24, 2010 / source: Calgary Sun
After offering free parking on evenings and weekends, a Calgary downtown mall is tossing yet more bait to lure potential shoppers through its doors.
Starting this Friday, and coinciding with longer Christmas season shopping hours, the CORE (TD Square and Holt Renfrew) is offering complimentary valet parking service as a pilot project. [read more]
No place like Home
November 14, 2010 / source: Calgary Herald
There may come a day when all of Calgary's historic sandstone buildings are converted into restaurants. It seems to be a natural and appropriate progression for the structures. We like dining surrounded by the rugged, historic warmth of sandstone and we appreciate restaurateurs who help preserve some of Calgary's history.
And, as of a few weeks ago, we can chalk up another sandstone-restaurant conversion. The former Ashdown's Hardware at 110 Stephen Ave. S.W. is now known as Home Tasting Room (403-262-8100). [read more]
Mozart Fest stirs soul
November 4, 2010 / source: Calgary Herald
His music transcends time. He has been dubbed the "quintessential rock star of classical composers."
And since his birth 255 years ago, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart has gained legendary status.
His beautiful masterpieces have been performed for years throughout the world.
And until Nov. 13, the genius is being honoured in downtown Calgary through performances at the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra with music maestro Roberto Minczuk.
But there is an interesting twist this year as the Mozart Festival, presented by the Haskayne School of Business at the University of Calgary, is also showcasing the composer through other downtown Calgary activities in partnership with several groups including Tourism Calgary and the Calgary Downtown Association. [read more]
Calgary's Charcut named one of Canada's top new eateries
October 29, 2010 / source: Calgary Herald
A Calgary roast house focused on local food and a "back to basics" approach has secured a place as one of the top new restaurants in the country.
Charcut placed sixth on enRoute's Top 10 list of Canada's best new restaurants -- the only one from the prairies to make the cut. [read more]
Fortney: Free parking keeps city's core flowing
October 28, 2010 / source: Calgary Herald
CALGARY - In his quest to become a successful entrepreneur, Russell Bohrson has been nothing short of tenacious.
In 2007, he even managed to slay a few dragons when he and sister Jessica became overnight celebrities by snagging the first deal on CBC's Dragons' Den.
But Bohrson, a winner of rave reviews for his food and drink at Atomic Tea, discovered his biggest business adversary is something much more mundane: parking. [read more]
The Thriller dance-off is back in Calgary
October 22, 2010 / source: Metro Calgary
You’ve seen it on TV and now you can be a part of it.
On Saturday, thousands of people across the world are gathering in their respective cities to dance to Michael Jackson’s Thriller and break a world record — including right here in Calgary. [read more]
Mozart and dining
October 17, 2010 / source: Calgary Herald
During his day, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart likely indulged in a diet of Wiener schnitzel, gulasch, apfelstrudel and other Austrian delicacies, likely along with hearty steins of beer, too. Inspiring food for composing symphonies and concertos.
But what kind of food do you dine on before attending a Mozart concert? Do you go with traditional Austrian fare or do you step it out with Mexican or Vietnamese or contemporary Indian? Do you sip an Austrian beer or perhaps a cool glass of gruner veltliner?
All of these options and more will be available from Oct. 28 to Nov. 13 as downtown restaurants help celebrate the upcoming 255th birthday of the great composer in a promotion called Dining with Mozart. [read more]
Hermes sales beat expectations
October 1, 2010 / source: Calgary Herald
High-end fashion store Hermes, operating as a boutique shop in the new Holt Renfrew downtown, has exceeded sales expectations in its first year of operation in the Calgary market.
"We're very pleased," said Jennifer Carter, president and CEO of Hermes Canada. "Our first year with our own store in Calgary has been delightful."
Calgary is the company's fourth store in the country. The 1,200-square-foot boutique opened Oct. 9. Its first Canadian store opened in Toronto in 1992, and today there are stores in Vancouver and Montreal. [read more]
Metro Minute with Dirty Laundry
September 28, 2010 / source: Metro Calgary
If you happen to be walking down Stephen Avenue Walk today, you might find yourself in the middle of an improvised soap opera. Dirty Laundry, Calgary’s completely live and improvised soap opera, will bring citizens Guerilla Theatre — which means the show could break out at any time. [read more]
Downtown Calgary vacancy rate highest in Canada at 14.5%
September 27, 2010 / source: Calgary Herald
Calgary's downtown vacancy rate has climbed to the highest level in the country among major markets but the commercial real estate sector also experienced significant activity in the third quarter "with a frenetic pace of leasing."
A report by CB Richard Ellis Ltd., said the downtown vacancy rate in the city jumped to 14.5 per cent from 12.5 per cent a year ago. [read more]
Is graffiti vandalism or art? Calgary grapples with issue
September 24, 2010 / source: Calgary Herald
A 19-year-old Calgary man, who police allege is a prolific tagger, is facing charges while city officials grapple with how to deal with graffiti.
Joanne Hahn, City of Calgary manager of policy and public education with animal and bylaw services, said the results of a graffiti prevention pilot project will be brought to council in November.
"Until then, we're not sure where we're going and it will be a new council," said Hahn. [read more]
Choice office space available downtown
September 17, 2010 / source: Calgary Herald
Beltline and suburban office tenants may start looking to relocate downtown due to decreasing vacancy rates in those areas and an increasing vacancy rate in the core.
The Beltline, with an office vacancy rate of just over 13 per cent, has limited large vacancy space and Chris Law, vice-president/partner with Colliers International in Calgary, forecast Thursday that the overall vacancy rate in that market will slide to 7.4 per cent in 2013. [read more]
Downtown Calgary customers rally around ailing shoeshine man Pat Dardano
September 16, 2010 / source: Calgary Herald
Today, Dardano is something of an anchor in downtown Calgary, continuing his trade as he has for almost 26 years, even as his health now ails and he cuts back on work hours.
His little shoeshine business, located on the Plus-15 in Fifth Avenue Place, has led to a life of warm devotion from his customers. His close friends run the gamut from powerful energy executives to building cleaning staff. [read more]
Gypsy Bistro full of charm
September 16, 2010 / source: Calgary Herald
I used to be a little scared and a lot intimidated by the downtown core back in the day; my kids were little and I didn't know my way around down there or where to park.
Sometimes we'd do a bus or LRT adventure to the Glenbow or Chinatown but drive down there with kids? No way!
Now that I'm all grown up (and the kids are too), I enjoy expeditions to the Downtown BRZ because I have a couple of favourite parking lots and plan my route before I leave. [read more]
Harry Rosen opens flagship Calgary store
September 3, 2010 / source: Calgary Herald
Showing confidence in the Calgary marketplace, Harry Rosen today opens its flagship store downtown -- an indication the city in recent years has moved upscale on the retail landscape.
"We're a 56-year-old proud Canadian company and we've been in Calgary now for 26 years. And obviously we've watched Calgary evolve from what it was to what I consider probably one of the most sophisticated and modern eclectic cities," Larry Rosen, CEO and chair of Harry Rosen Inc., said Thursday as he gave the Herald a tour of the new store.
The expanded flagship store in the CORE shopping centre (TD Square-Calgary Eaton Centre) is on two storeys, covering more than 30,000 square feet. It has six designer shop-in-shops including a first for Calgary -- an exclusive Tom Ford shop. [read more]
Street style in September
August 31, 2010 / source: Calgary Herald
You're pretty stylish, Calgary.
From your tall, handsome tower and beautiful winding river, to your elegantly attired store fronts and neatly manicured avenues and parks, it's about time you celebrated your fashionable self.
The Calgary Downtown Business Association is going to do just that -- starting with Calgary's core. Throughout September, the BRZ will host a Get Back to Style Downtown campaign, highlighting the unique shopping, entertainment and dining found there. [read more]
Taste of Calgary crowds bask in sun for final two days after rainy start
August 16, 2010 / source: Calgary Herald
Sunday was a bona fide summer day and the festival crowd ate it up.
The outdoor venue at the 14th Annual Taste of Calgary was bustling as local restaurants served up samples from their menus. Festival organizers were happy to see people out and about in the warm weather after a couple of days of rain and low turnouts. [read more]
Our goal is to get panhandlers off the street
August 15, 2010 / source: Calgary Herald
Re: "Don't vilify panhandlers," Jeremy Klaszus, Opinion, July 26.
Developing a controversial anti-giving campaign a number of years ago was a decision not taken lightly by the Calgary Downtown Association board. After much discussion with local social agencies and the International Downtown Association, it was decided the best way to help panhandlers was to educate the public to give to agencies that could help those who wanted to be helped. [read more]
Klaszus: Don't vilify panhandlers
July 26, 2010 / source: Calgary Herald
If I want to walk or bike downtown from my place, the shortest route cuts by the Calgary Drop-In and Rehab Centre. That's always bugged me, and a while back I said as much to a friend.
People down there are unpredictable, I told him. Social justice is important and homeless people deserve to be treated with dignity and all that -- sure. But the honest truth is I don't like walking through that area. [read more]
Buddy, can you spare $50,000?
July 15, 2010 / source: Calgary Herald
Jonathan Denis, Alberta's minister of housing and urban affairs, plans to roll out a campaign this fall in Calgary and Edmonton discouraging people from giving money to panhandlers. Instead, citizens will be urged to give money to homeless shelters and other social service organizations. Among the prescriptions being considered are donation boxes similar to parking meters, with the money going to places such as the Calgary Drop-In Centre, the Mustard Seed and similar agencies. [read more]
Lost in the core? Talk to a HOST
July 15, 2010 / source: Metro Calgary
Decked out in white cowboy hats and red shirts, Hospitality Outreach Teams (HOSTs) can be found downtown pointing tourists and locals in the right direction. [read more]
Full-page ad supports police budget
July 14, 2010 / source: CTV News Calgary
Several Calgary organizations have joined forces to protect the Calgary Police Service. The group took out a $10,000 full-page newspaper ad in an effort to pressure City Hall to exempt police from budget cuts. [read more]
Crime drops in downtown core
July 10, 2010 / source: Calgary Herald
Working nights at a downtown Calgary pizza joint, Zya Jawadi has a few hair-raising stories to tell and more than enough near scrapes under his belt.
As he says, it's the "pizza guys" who know about what can happen in the core. [read more]
Cops planting Stampede bait
July 8, 2010 / source: Metro Calgary
Car thieves are being warned that any vehicle parked near the Stampede grounds or downtown core over the next 10 days could be bait. [read more]
Make most of Stampede, cabbies urged
July 6, 2010 / source: Metro Calgary
Calgary Downtown Business Association officials are calling on cabbies to crowd the downtown core during late hours this Stampede season.
CDBA executive director Maggie Schofield said since the Calgary Airport Authority has awarded the airport contract to one company, other companies have an opportunity to make a lot of income during the Stampede. [read more]
Stephen Avenue Kiosks ready for Stampede boost
July 1, 2010 / source: Calgary Herald
Entrepreneurs sell everything from jewelry to sausages each year, and this year, the Calgary Downtown Association had more than 30 applications for its vendor/artist program. [read more]
Global Business Centre opens doors to local companies
June 30, 2010 / source: Calgary Herald
Calgary Economic Development launched its Global Business Centre on Tuesday, striking as international interest in Calgary begins to pick up and local companies look to expand into foreign markets.
The centre allows the city to take better advantage of those growing trends, CEO Bruce Graham said.
[read more]
Yee haw, it’s that time of year again
June 30, 2010 / source: Metro Calgary
As Stampede creeps closer, the city is slowly becoming filled with brightly coloured windows, random bales of hay and rickety old wooden fences. [read more]
Sien Lok display spotlights proud history
June 24, 2010 / source: Calgary Herald
Michelle Seto, of the Sien Lok Society of Calgary, says the organization secured the location for the display in a prominent place in the community after its showing ended recently at the new Jamieson Place office tower. It is on display at the cultural centre during other Chinatown Centennial events. [read more]
Downtown group eager to address Calgary's parking concerns
June 18, 2010 / source: Calgary Herald
Included in an independent review is a call for the authority to respond to feedback from business revitalization zones.
The suggestion was made in addition to 12 recommendations approved by a city committee Wednesday in an effort to make the parking authority more customer friendly. [read more]
Paula Arab: Few pluses to Calgary Parking Authority
June 17, 2010 / source: Calgary Herald
A new report on the Calgary Parking Authority gives Calgarians little reason to park their complaints about the one thing they love to complain about: parking. [read more]
Major parade to kick off Chinatown anniversary
June 3, 2010 / source: Calgary Herald
Calgary's Chinese community is kicking off the 100th anniversary of Chinatown with a major parade later this month.
[read more]
‘Symbolic garden’
June 3, 2010 / source: Metro Calgary
Downtown office workers traded their briefcases for garden spades to break ground for the Calgary Interfaith Food Bank yesterday. [read more]
Calgary seeks to extend surveillance camera program in Downtown, East Village
May 30, 2010 / source: Calgary Herald
The city wants to relocate its downtown and East Village surveillance cameras and extend their trial run, says a city report that also notes authorities have had "relatively low" demand for the security footage to date.
[read more]
Centre City pushing forward - Projects aim for thriving downtown
May 8, 2010 / source: Calgary Herald
Over the years, one of the major criticisms of the city by the private sector is that officials spend millions of dollars and thousands of hours developing plans that just sit on the shelf, with nobody looking at them. [read more]
Edmonton behind Calgary - Our downtown has pulled ahead in last 30 years
May 1, 2010 / source: Calgary Herald
The following is the second of a two-part series comparing Calgary and Edmonton.
Last week, I looked at how Edmonton and Calgary have evolved as vibrant urban centres in terms of catalytic projects -- those that spark needed innovations and promote positive changes -- and as places to live [read more]
A tale of two Albertan cities - Comparing urban centres of our 'big two'
April 24, 2010 / source: Calgary Herald
The following is the first of a two-part series comparing Calgary and Edmonton.
During the past few years I have written this column, I have compared downtown Calgary as a place to live, work and play with everywhere from Vancouver and Denver to the French cities of Paris and Lyon. [read more]
