Long-vacant Westbrook LRT site finally getting a development plan
The 4.2-hectare parcel at 17th Avenue and 33rd Street SW has sat barren for 15 years. The city is now accepting feedback on mixed housing, parks, and retail.
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Land around the Westbrook CTrain stop has sat vacant for nearly 15 years, but Calgary is working on a plan to develop the site into a community hub.
Non-market housing, park space, pathways and retail space are all on the table, as the city looks to develop long-dormant land above and surrounding the underground Westbrook station. City administration is currently soliciting feedback on how residents want to see the land used.
The 4.2-hectare land parcel, which sits at 17th Avenue and 33rd Street SW, has been unused since Ernest Manning High School was demolished in 2011 in anticipation of the CTrain. The city created an initial concept plan for the area in 2014, then Matco Development purchased the land two years later. But after a contractual building commitment wasn't met in time, the city bought the land back in 2024.
Ward 8 Coun. Nathaniel Schmidt said after so long, almost any development feels like a win. "It's one of those rare issues that I've learned in politics where everybody's saying 'just do something, please,'" Schmidt said. "You don't get that consensus very often."
Schmidt said the CTrain stop, the station's library, Westbrook Mall, nearby grocery stores and daycares would all help the area be an affordable place to live. He added he would like to see similar development explored around all of Calgary's LRT stations and transit hubs.
Myles Trawick, the community association's president, said what's there now could be described as a "barren wasteland." The city presented ideas for towers as high as 12 storeys, mixed with smaller housing, designated green space, a retail element, and roads through and around the plot to access the site.
An open house about the land's future was scheduled at the Glendale/Glendale Meadows Community Association building on Wednesday. The city is also running a website taking suggestions. After the plan is complete and receives council's approval, the city is projecting construction on the site could occur by 2029.