Palliser bayview PumphillCommunity Association (PBPCA) |
Creating Opportunities for Community Connections Councillor Penner Responds to Area Residents Over Glenmore Landing Re-Development Plans Email Response to Ward 11 Residents Reprinted with permission from Ward 11 (Holly Shaw) - May 25, 2023 Thank you so much for reaching out to the Ward 11 Office with your thoughts regarding the proposed Glenmore Landing Redevelopment – your engagement and patience with this reply are sincerely appreciated! The project is in an early phase of public engagement led by the developer, RioCan, focusing on exploration, feedback gathering, and working through conceptual design ideas. At this stage, it is important for community members to engage in this process and be aware of available information and resources to provide informed feedback, comments, and questions. The role of Councillor Penner is to listen to the feedback from individuals and nearby organizations based on this engagement process. To this end, we appreciate you taking a moment to share your thoughts. Please know that this is an important component for Councillor Penner’s evaluation of this development proposal. We hope that you had an opportunity to engage at a community open house as this is a great avenue to learn about the proposal and provide constructive comments directly to the developer. Our office was aware of the open houses hosted in Palliser, Bayview, Pumphill (PBP) and the Haysboro Community Associations (CAs) and we had the opportunity to attend and observe at these events. We work closely with local Community Associations to develop and prioritize community-specific issue resolutions and encourage all resident to be involved with their local CA. Councillor Penner and the Ward 11 Office met with RioCan prior to these open-houses and look forward to follow-up conversations to discuss the information that was shared, and the summarization of feedback heard from attendees and Community Associations. Below is further information for your review and consideration: The RioCan project webpage has current details about the projects and engagements as well as an option to sign up for emails to receive the most up-to-date information about the project: Home - Glenmore Landing (community-developmentinfo.com) The City of Calgary webpage has information about the notice of motion on the proposed Glenmore Landing redevelopment. We have been advised that an update of this website will be coming in the following weeks: https://www.calgary.ca/planning/projects/glenmore-landing.html If you are looking for additional information about the process of the development with the City, here is an up-to-date summary: 2015 i. First pre-application submitted ii. Council Notice of Motion passed directing Administration to work with RioCan (applicant/owner): On a ‘comprehensive plan for redevelopment’ of the site, and To explore the sale of the surplus City lands at the perimeter of the site, with opportunities for non-market housing in the development. iii. Administration provided the applicant with a set of parameters and expectations for a formal application as part of their review of the applicant’s proposed redevelopment. · 2016 – 2022 – Negotiations held between RioCan and the City’s Real Estate & Development Services (REDS) · 2019 – Second pre-application reviewed by Administration, mostly a technical review regarding servicing/infrastructure · 2022 (Fall) – Purchase & Sale Agreement struck between RioCan and REDS. PSA has clause that land use must be approved by Council by early 2024. · 2022 (Fall) – Third pre-application reviewed by Administration, mostly Q&A re: technical components and process expectations for a formal application · 2023 (March) – Fourth pre-application reviewed by Administration, including master plan concept for short term and long-term redevelopment. Master plan concept was also reviewed by UDRP mid-March. · 2023 (April) – Applicant-led engagement/outreach with surrounding communities and interested parties. Administration was not involved in the engagement. · 2023 (May) – Planned submission of outline plan and land use amendment (LOC) application to City by applicant. Regarding the role of The City in engagement sessions: https://www.calgary.ca/development/commercial/community-outreach-roles.html Per the City’s Outreach Roles & Responsibilities webpage: City Administration is there to support the application as it pertains to City process and protocols. The Developer/Applicant is the lead, and The City is a support only. City Council is responsible for making the final decision (by vote) to approve/refuse the application based on the outreach strategy/rational/approach and any feedback that may have been collected. The role of Councillor Penner at this time is to consider community feedback while evaluating the proposal based on its merits and drawbacks, in conjunction with city-wide policies and goals. As such, the Ward 11 Office will continue to be in communication with the local Community Associations, the City Administration who are stewarding the process of this development application, as well as remaining in contact with the developer RioCan to stay informed of the process timelines. Thank you again for taking the time to reach out and for sharing your thoughts on the proposed Glenmore Landing Redevelopment. If you are not already involved in your local Community Association, we encourage you to reach out for any volunteer opportunities. We also recommend signing up for the RioCan Glenmore Landing updates per the link in this message, as well as visiting the City of Calgary website in the coming weeks so that you may stay informed with the most up-to-date information. The Ward 11 Team on behalf of Councillor Kourtney Penner - Ward 11 Office of the Councillors | The City of Calgary T: 403-268-2430 W: calgary.ca/ward11 PO Box 2100, Stn M | Mail code #8001| Calgary, AB T2P 2M5 Stay Connected for Ward 11 News NEWS FLASH! PBPCA Board Meets with RioCan & Urban Systems re Glenmore Landing on May 2, 2022 On May 2nd the Board welcomed several representatives from Urban Systems (RioCan’s Calgary consultant), Noor Archecture, and RioCan via video stream from Toronto. The group was led by Mike Coldwell who is the Principal at the Calgary office of Urban Systems and a senior planner. The group wanted to update the Board with a presentation similar to what was seen on information boards at the April 26th open house but with a little more narrative. About 220 residents attended the event and many filled out comment cards for Urban Systems. Halfway through the open house, Bayview represented about 39% of the attendees, Pump Hill had 17%, and Palliser had 16% based on a location map in the room. About 40 residents from Haysboro attended the morning open house session at their community hall and several more attended the evening PBPCA session. No feedback was provided on the submitted comment cards but a little more clarity was provided on the preliminary concepts and the underlying vision for the Glenmore Landing redevelopment which is part of the RioCan 5-year strategic plan. RioCan, the owner of Glenmore Landing is based in Toronto and is the second-largest real estate investment trust (REIT) in Canada. The REIT owns 289 primarily retail properties across Canada. In early 2022, RioCan unveiled its 5-year strategic plan to re-imagine its retail holdings in the wake of online shopping and the recent pandemic which are keeping a good many retail shoppers at home. RioCan’ s strategy is to transform its premium retail centers serviced by transit into mixed-use destinations featuring residential development, entertainment, dining, and luxury stores. At the company’s February 2022 investor presentation, president and chief executive officer Jonathan Gitlin said, “Mixed-use enables us to make the highest and best use of our properties while addressing the residential supply gap found in major markets.” And, while the Glenmore Landing drawings and concepts are quite preliminary, the long-term plan for Glenmore Landing (15 – 20 years) is to convert it into an urban centre where people can live, work, play, eat, and shop within a fairly short walk. Short-Term Development The short-term vision for Glenmore Landing starts with residential development in three phases each separated by approximately five years. In short, Phase 1 along 90th avenue SW will be completed in the next 5 years, while Phase 2 and Phase 3 will follow five and ten years later. Each residential complex (phase) is estimated to contain about 400 units with an average of 1.8 residents per household. As such, each phase would add approximately 720 residents to the PBP which has a current population of approximately 6,000 based on the 2016 census. While the majority will be condominiums, RioCan will set aside approximately 10% of those units as subsidized rentals as part of the City of Calgary’s mandate to incorporate non-market housing as part of the sale of 5.5 acres surrounding the shopping centre. The height and look of the buildings are still preliminary but could be as high as 20 stories with ground level retail services. Parking will be underground directly under the residential towers. Jacob Lackman, the Noor architect, and project manager at the meeting noted that the building drawings at this point are conceptual and have no balconies or windows — essentially “blocks” meant to show where the buildings will stand. Long-Term Development RioCan’s long-term vision for the Glenmore Landing imagines a gradual redevelopment of the current shopping center footprint with greater retail density balanced with pedestrian accessibility through and along the development to give it a more urban character. More residential development is ultimately imagined for the South end of the development. RioCan insists that the residential development will be phased in based on residential demand. Next Steps RioCan is still working on their Land Use Redesignation and Draft Plan of Subdivision to the city of Calgary and are currently negotiating for the purchase of the 5.5 acres surrounding the current Glenmore Landing shopping Centre. These documents are necessary before the city planning department considers the necessary permits over the summer. Once that process is largely complete and the plans have evolved somewhat, Urban Systems will plan further community engagement opportunities in the Fall of 2023 before the City Council considers the final submissions later this year. |
PBPCA Announces Position on Glenmore Landing Development by RioCan The PBPCA Board learned more about the planned RioCan development at their May 2nd board meeting and will be sharing additional details with the community across our social media platforms including our website at www.pbpcommunity.ca. In addition, Urban Systems, who is RioCan's interdisciplinary community consulting firm, will be posting updates to their website at https://urbansystems.ca. As fellow PBP community members, we appreciate the concern expressed by our members both in person and via email. We are all affected and concerned by the changes proposed by RioCan. However, the PBPCA's role in the Glenmore Development process is limited by our charitable status charter. As a registered charity, the law states that we cannot oppose, or change the law, policy, or decision of any level of government in Canada. In this case, the approval by the City of Calgary. The City of Calgary approved the sale of their surplus lands to RioCan with the express purpose of leveraging the investment in the Max Yellow BRT with nearby residential development with a focus on creating a place where people can live, work, shop, and play within walking and cycling distance. This was voted on and approved by Calgary's City Council in 2015. As such, we must remain a neutral party to the developmental process. However, this does not mean that we cannot help our residents express their support, concerns, or opposition to RioCan’s plans. The PBPCA’s Mission is to connect the residents of the PBP and surrounding communities. So, while we strongly encourage community members to reach out and share their concerns, our role is to bring the community together and help support meaningful initiatives. This can be done by coordinating events, communicating updates through our social media channels, and making our facilities available for gatherings of interested groups in favour or in opposition to all/some of the proposed development. Given the current state of the RioCan development initiatives, you have two areas of recourse. The first is through the Ward 11 Councilor, Kourtney Penner. The Councilor can be reached at 403-268-2430 or through email at ward11@calgary.ca. The second is through the City of Calgary’s Planning Department: https://www.calgary.ca/development/contacts.html at 403-268-5311. Sincerely, Sam Swain PBPCA President on behalf of the PBPCA Board of Directors President@pbpcommunity.ca |