ANNOUNCING AN EXCITING NEW DEVELOPMENT PARTNERSHIP EMBOLDENED TO REIMAGINE THE DAVID D. OUGHTON SCHOOL SITE.

THE SITE

Just off International Avenue in Albert Park/Radisson Heights—a neighbourhood of multi-cultural families and mom and pop shops—sits 8.77 acres of potential known as the David D Oughton (DDO) school site. The site was home to a public elementary school for more than a half-century until the Calgary Board of Education declared it surplus and closed its doors in 2006. In 2008, the City of Calgary purchased the DDO site. In 2015, The City demolished the building and remediation work at the site was completed in 2017.

BACKGROUND

In 2018, after receiving its expanded mandate to work outside the Rivers District, Calgary Municipal Land Corporation (CMLC) purchased the David D Oughton land parcel. CMLC recognized the untapped potential for future development at the DDO site and its surroundings, and knew that it was primed to start its next life as both a residential development and as a catalyst for economic development in a Calgary neighbourhood that’s vibrant but has often been overlooked.  

THE PARTNERSHIP

What our firms have in common is a desire to create places that make a difference. We both understand and value complete, compact communities where walking is a viable way to get around. We both know that authentic community grows in places where people of many ages—intergenerational families—and with varied needs can feel like they belong. We share an appreciation for the power of programming and public art to enrich communities, and we both value places where people can meet and thoughts can collide.  

We measure success by how many people we can include in our community and how much neighbourhood entrepreneurialism we can spark. Both our organizations are experienced in leveraging the potential of place, and we understand how development is a tool of economic development that can give communities confidence in their future.  

WHAT’S NEXT

APRIL 2019

• Development Partnership Announcement

MAY 2019

• Begin outline plan and City planning approvals process

• Start community outreach and engagement

2020

Continued to work through on outline plan throughout 2020.

2021

We will post more information as it becomes available on our next steps.

ABOUT CMLC

Calgary Municipal Land Corporation (CMLC), master developer of East Village and the future culture and entertainment district in east Victoria Park, is a for-profit developer that works for the greater good of all Calgarians. We help achieve the City’s objectives for urban densification and community renewal, infrastructure investment and placemaking. 

Incorporated in 2007 as a wholly owned subsidiary of the City, our first task was to implement and execute the Rivers District Community Revitalization Plan – a public infrastructure program approved by the City of Calgary and the Province of Alberta to kick-start Calgary’s urban renewal in the east end of downtown. In 2016, CMLC’s mandate was expanded to allow us to apply our expertise to other areas of the city. The David D. Oughton redevelopment is CMLC’s first project outside the Rivers District boundary.

ABOUT RNDSQR

RNDSQR has built innovative forward-thinking projects in a range of Calgary Neighbourhoods that and continues to make it possible for families of many kinds to access ownership in the inner city. They’ve built modern, affordable condos and innovative townhomes in established neighborhoods all over Calgary since 2015.

RNDSQR is a firm of brothers with a unique perception on the International Avenue property—it’s close to where they grew up after their parents arrived in Calgary as refugees from East Africa. They understand the culture of this polyglot part of the city as few others do, and they’ve got ideas about how to accommodate this diversity of residents.