Rare Elbow River lots in Calgary hitting the market for the first time since 2013 floods
Six lots along the Elbow River in Calgary’s Roxboro neighbourhood are expected to hit the market after they were purchased by the province in 2013.
According to Spencer Stupka, co-owner of Charles Real Estate, the lots set to go up for sale are 112, 116, 122, 220, 310, and 312 Roxboro Rd. SW, all of which back directly onto the Elbow River.
Back in 2013, floods devastated Calgary when heavy rain caused the Bow and Elbow Rivers to flood. According to the City of Calgary, there was as much as $6 billion in financial losses and property damage. In the aftermath, the province purchased properties to reduce risk along the river while planning long-term flood mitigation.
The Roxboro properties are still designated within the floodway under the City of Calgary’s existing flood maps, meaning development is currently restricted. In most cases, new builds aren’t permitted unless they replace an existing structure on the same property.
Charles Real Estate
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However, Stupka says the City of Calgary is looking into updating its maps to align with the province’s new flood maps. Once that is done, the lots will be classified as flood fringe.
Flood fringe areas are parts of the floodplain where water may still reach during a major flood, but the risk is much lower. “In the flood fringe, new construction and significant additions are permitted, provided they are designed to prevent structural flood damage,” Stupka said.
According to Stupka, the province is ready to sell the properties thanks to the City’s long-term flood mitigation tactics.
“After purchasing these properties following the 2013 flood, the province held them while upstream flood mitigation was still being worked out. Now that SR1 [Springbank Off-Stream Reservoir] is operational and Calgary has achieved roughly a 70 per cent reduction in overall flood risk exposure, and Elbow River communities are now protected to a 1-in-200-year flood standard, the province is comfortable returning the land to residential use. “