Calgary, AB,
06
May
2014
|
11:45
America/Denver

Calgary ready to accommodate expected suburban growth

Calgary has enough serviced and zoned land to house the 114,000 new people expected over the next five years, according to new growth forecast and land supply numbers released by The City. In total, there is enough serviced land with approved zoning for 18,846 single family/semi-detached homes and 26,793 multi-family units (such as apartments and townhouses).

“As The City seeks out the best areas for new growth, it is important to have reliable information on the existing supply of land ready for development and to know how much development we will need moving forward,” says Rollin Stanley, General Manager of Planning, Development & Assessment. “We can see from this recent report that there is enough serviced land to accommodate our short-term growth, and we are constantly working with the development community to plan for and invest in Calgary’s long-term growth as well.”

The majority of the land ready for new development is clustered on the northern and southern edges of Calgary. Focusing investment in a few key areas at a time is a way to ensure that new communities are completed sooner, infrastructure is used to its fullest potential and operating costs for services like fire protection are more efficient.

The growth forecast and land supply inventory was reported in The City’s annual Suburban Residential Growth report. The report is based on The City’s economic forecasts and planning data and is developed in consultation with development industry experts. The report measures the amount of land that has an approved area structure plan (which provides a basic design for a new community), approved zoning for development and services like access to the transportation network, water, sanitary and storm sewer, and fire protection. Key findings of this year’s report were:

The Suburban Residential Growth report is one of three major reports that The City uses to measure how much land is needed and available for development in Calgary. The Developed Areas Growth and Change report examines the land supply in Calgary’s established communities. It will be released later this spring.