The Currie Barracks development project in Calgary is the recipient of LEED Gold for neighborhood development — reportedly the first of its kind in Canada.
The Currie Barracks development project in Calgary is the recipient of LEED Gold for neighborhood development — reportedly the first of its kind in Canada.
The project by federal crown corporation Canada Lands Co. (CLC) Ltd. is the last of three sites to be redeveloped on the former Canadian military base.
“This development has been embraced by Calgarians as a showcase community that sets new standards for sustainable community design, while respecting the preservation of both heritage and the environment,” said Dave Bronconnier, Calgary mayor.
Linda Hackman, director of planning and urban design at CLC in Calgary said that there was an overall vision for the 200-acre site
“(It) is to achieve a complete, integrated and sustainable community that is characterized by a rich mix of compatible land uses within a walkable, pedestrian-friendly environment,” she said.
It is anticipated that Currie Barracks will include upwards of 3,200 housing units of various types, 225,000 square feet of retail, to be developed along a main street, and 300,000 square feet of office space.
The office space is to be located in a number of the existing buildings around the historic Parade Square and in new space above retail facilities.
The first phase consists of about 250 housing units of various types, but construction is not expected to get underway before next fall.
Currie Barracks will be developed in a phased approach which will take about 10 years to achieve.
The total cost of the project, including land servicing and building construction, is estimated at between $1.2 billion and $1.5 billion. Hackman said an important element of all CLC’s Calgary projects is the recognition of the military history of the former Canadian Forces Base lands.
“In our first two projects, Garrison Woods and Garrison Green, CLC commemorated the First World War and Canadian peacekeepers respectively,” she said.
CLC will continue to commemorate the military history of the site through appropriate street naming and displays that focus on the Second World War, post-war years, the Korean War and the history of the base.
The LEED neighborhood development certification is a new rating system that integrates the principles of smart growth, new urbanism and green building for neighbourhood design.
“CLC was part of the pilot project that defined the criteria by which other LEED certified neighbourhoods throughout North America will be measured,” said Mark Laroche, CLC’s president and CEO.
The project team includes Brown and Associates (planning consultants), Jenkins and Associates Architecture (architecture and urban design), UMA Engineering Ltd., (primary engineering consultants), Enermodal Engineering Ltd. (LEED consultant) and Stantec Consulting Ltd. (transportation), all of Calgary.
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