Seven projects and initiatives to keep an eye out for in Calgary in 2024
New year, new Calgary; or almost-new, but not quite yet.
As the calendar year turns over, there are a lot of new projects to look out for in 2024 that will effectively change the fabric of this city — from the economy to the way we move around and where people will live.
Here are seven that we’re following closely.
BMO Expansion
This is a $500 million expansion project set to increase the convention centre’s total floor space to more than one million sq ft.
The expansion will more than double the facility’s rentable area, making it the largest such facility in Western Canada.
Conceptual rendering of the BMO Centre expansion (CMLC)
The Calgary Municipal Land Corporation (CMLC) — the organization managing the project — said it will bring Calgary top-tier destination status in the competitive international meetings and conventions market.
It’s expected to be complete this year just in time for the Stampede. Yahoo!
New Event Centre
The Calgary Event Centre is a planned arena complex that will serve a number of purposes.
It’s intended to replace the Saddledome as the home of the Calgary Flames and is said to be a facility that will attract more big-name concerts and entertainment to the city.
As of December 2023, the project team, along with the design consultants, have begun the design phase of the event centre, community rink, and surrounding public plazas.
An earlier concept and rendering of the proposed event centre. (City of Calgary)
The City said on its website that the work is in its early stages and will take several months to complete.
Construction of the project is expected to break ground in 2024 and it’s estimated to cost a total of $1.2 billion.
Office to residential conversions
This is a plan to revamp the city’s core and make use of vacant office buildings that were left empty during the height of the pandemic and the domino effect of changing work arrangements.
A map of the approved building conversions in downtown Calgary, up to date as of November 8. (City of Calgary)
The goal of the downtown office conversion programs is for 17 conversion projects to be transformed into more than 2,300 new homes for Calgarians.
There are currently 13 approved projects and four in the pre-approval stage.
Arts Commons Transformation
The Arts Commons Transformation will be completed through a tri-party agreement between Arts Commons, The City of Calgary, and the CMLC.
It’s a $480 million expansion and modernization of the centre that will be completed in two phases, expected to break ground this year.
Arts Commons (Chandler Walter/Daily Hive)
It’s also closely linked with the Olympic Plaza Transformation and is a part of Calgary’s bigger downtown revitalization initiative.
Olympic Plaza Transformation
The Olympic Plaza Transformation will see a full redesign of the iconic cultural landmark that served as the ceremonial spot for the 1988 Winter Games.
The design team was selected late last year and construction timelines will be determined as the project progresses and funding is in place.
To facilitate construction on both the Olympic Plaza Transformation and Arts Commons Transformation, projects, events and programming in Olympic Plaza will be paused at the end of this year.
Olympic Plaza skating/Shutterstock
Forty million dollars has been allocated to the Olympic Plaza transformation for project initiation, design team procurement, and design development, but those involved with the project said more funding will be required as it moves along.
Foothills Multisport Fieldhouse
The Foothills Multisport Fieldhouse is a priority project that will meet the needs of Calgary’s sports and recreation community while raising Calgary’s profile as a destination for national and international events and competitions.
Amenities would include a FIFA-sized rectangular field, track and field amenities built to World Athletics standards, court space a fitness centre, and multipurpose rooms.
The amenity mix for the Foothills Multisport Fieldhouse was approved by City Council in July 2023.
An artistic rendering of the field at the facility. (City of Calgary)
The City is working on the next steps for the project, which include defining the development process and procurement strategy.
The project is estimated to cost a total of $380 million. The timeline to complete the project is estimated at five years from the time funding becomes available.
The Green Line
Calgary’s largest-ever infrastructure investment with a price tag of $5.5 billion is on track — pardon the pun — with land acquisition of the south segments needed before the building process begins nearing completion.
Artistic rendering of a station for the Green Line LRT in Calgary. (City of Calgary)
Major construction of phase one of the project, from Shepard to Eau Claire, is on track to begin in 2024. It will connect southeast Calgary to the downtown core and into the existing LRT and MAX BRT routes.
The schedule will be determined through the development phase, but according to the committee, it should take around five to six years to complete based on other projects of that size.
Follow Channels and Categories