The history of a Calgary park that replaced an entire neighbourhood
Located in southeast Calgary, Old Refinery Park may seem like any other green space in the city, but it was once the site of an up-and-coming neighbourhood.
According to Heritage Calgary, the land the park sits on was previously home to an oil refinery operated by Imperial Oil. It opened in the 1920s and at its peak, produced around 3,000 barrels of fuel each day, and stored up to 80,000 barrels on-site.
In 1976, the refinery closed, and just two years later, in 1978, the City of Calgary approved a housing development to be built on the site, but due to the land’s oil and gas history, problems began to appear.
Provincial Archives of Alberta
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The Lynnview Ridge community was built on the site of the refinery, but in 1985, oil byproducts were found coming from the ground in the neighbouring Beaver Dam Flats. It wasn’t until 2001 that environmental testing found high levels of lead in the soil, which was extremely unsafe.
In response, Imperial Oil offered to buy out property owners in the area, and only 11 refused. Despite those 11 homes, the neighbourhood was demolished, including over one hundred houses.
The land underwent risk management and remediation efforts between 2015 and 2019, with Imperial Oil paying for 60 per cent of remediation, and the City of Calgary covering the remaining costs.
The remaining 11 homes were deemed safe, and the vacant land eventually opened to the public as a park.
Today, Old Refinery Park is safe for recreational use, and the water quality of the Bow River is not under threat. It’s a large natural park, much like Nose Hill Park and Fish Creek Provincial Park, offering natural landscapes right in the city.