Key Findings by Main Street

Key findings by main street

By reviewing the local statistics for each main street, the Main Streets’ team is considering how past population, employment and transportation trends apply to the future of Calgary’s main streets. 22 | The Main Streets initiative What we’ve learned Centre Street N

The Main Streets initiative What we’ve learned | 23 M NW E CKNIG T BV H D MCKNIGHT BV NE

O Centre Street N now R

N E

E T O N

V N

E T R W

E The Centre Street N corridor from the Bow River to McKnight D R Boulevard is one of Calgary’s most important gateways to the NE 41 AV NE

downtown. 40 AV NW

Completed in 1916, the Centre Street Bridge connects Calgary’s 36 AV NE historic Chinatown across the Bow river to the north. Centre A

Street passes along the communities of Crescent Heights, T Centre ST 32 AV NW S 32 AV NE

Tuxedo and Highland Park. Similar to many of Calgary’s main North of 16 AV N E C

streets, Centre Street was home to a streetcar system, and 1 ST NE ST 1 will continue to be a transit artery. Centre Street is home to NW ST 1 a diverse array of businesses and residents, and has unique W

24 AV NW N 24 AV NE

stretches of residential and commercial development. S T 4 Tigerstadt block on Centre Street was home to Tigerstadt

20A AV NE 20 AV NW 20 AV NE

Photo Studios, where some of the first images of the Calgary 6

E 5 ST NE

Stampede parades were developed. S

4 17 AV NE 16 AV NW 16 AV NE Jobs and population trends

6000 13 AV NW Population - 5,373 12 AV NE 12 AV NW

B W

N 5000

ST Centre ST 1 8 AV NE 4000 South of 16 7AVAV NW

W N V Jobs - 3,060 A 2 ME MO 3000 RI AL D R N W 2000

24 | The Main Streets initiative What we’ve learned Travel and transportation Local planning

TRAFFIC VOLUME (AVERAGE NUMBER OF VEHICLES PER DAY) WALK SCORE Centre Street N is one of the longer Municipal Development Plan main streets with a variety of contexts. It was evaluated in two Centre Street – Overall separate sections. 25000 A Centre Street N from the Bow River to 16 Avenue N 73 Centre Street N is a community hub for the adjacent community Somewhat walkable: of Crescent Heights, as well as a regional draw for many Calgarians Some errands can be to enjoy the diverse and interesting restaurants and wide range of accomplished on foot. commercial services. This main street is successful and provides 20000 1971 1980 1991 2000 2011 2013 an important cultural and recreational space for many. This section of the main street has the Crescent Heights Area Redevelopment A Centre ST North of 16 AV Plan (1997) to provide land use policy, which generally supports Municipal Development Plan policies for low scale, mixed use 20000 main street redevelopment. 58 B Centre Street N from 16 Avenue N to McKnight Boulevard North of 16 Avenue the main street is primarily local commercial Somewhat walkable: areas north to 31 Avenue, then mostly low density residential. Some errands can be 15000 These commercial and low density residential areas along 1971 1980 1991 2000 2011 2013 accomplished on foot. Centre Street N have policy direction from the North Hill Area Redevelopment Plan, approved by City Council in 2000. The B Centre ST South of 16 AV North Hill Area Redevelopment Plan generally supports Municipal

35000 Development Plan policies for low scale, mixed use main street redevelopment along Centre Street N. 30000 25000 88 Current zoning 20000 Somewhat walkable: Centre Street N is intended to be an urban main street, serving the Some errands can be 15000 neighbourhood, but also acting as a welcoming destination for all 1971 1980 1991 2000 2011 2013 accomplished on foot. of north-central Calgary. Even if all properties were redeveloped to the maximum allowed by current zoning, population and employment would fall short of the growth targets outlined in the Municipal Development Plan. Increased population is required to support transit and services. Rezoning along Centre Street would 5 mins 10 mins facilitate more mixed use development along a major travel artery Frequency of trips departing 10 Frequency of trips departing and allow greater convenience to residents and visitors as well as during off peak hours TRANSIT ROUTES during peak hours access to the future Green Line LRT service.

The Main Streets initiative What we’ve learned | 25 Centre Street N future

Important outcomes to main street users Growth potential

Growth for this main street area is significantly less than the Municipal Development Plan target. The most relevant factors contributing to this are market desire and consumer preference, which haven’t driven redevelopment. Land use districts (zoning) must be in place to enable redevelopment potential to increase to desired Vibrant public realm Diversity of housing (mixed use population and employment levels, but strong market interest is a key for fueling residential) When Centre Street N main street users new construction. Support from City services and infrastructure can have a positive provided input about the future of this Centre Street N main street users impact on market demand and will contribute to the evolution of this main street. area, they shared that they would like to also state that a diversity of housing see improvements to the public spaces types throughout the surrounding Municipal 200 Development and sidewalks along Centre Street. Both communities would be important to Plan goal to create an enjoyable experience while the future success of this main street. visiting the street, but also to improve 150 pedestrian and bicycle mobility. Desired outcomes • Diversity of housing Desired outcome 100 • Safe and vibrant main street sidewalk 50 • High quality public realm 53 114 Existing development Existing zoning 0 People and jobs per hectare

Market outlook

Based on the 2011 Census, Centre Street accounts for over 9,500 homes, or about 2.1% of the Calgary housing inventory.

Centre Street has a significantly higher than average share of multifamily units, especially in low-rise apartments and detached duplexes. The housing in this neighbourhood is considerably older than the city wide average, where units are likely to have been built before 1960. Given the historic and inner-city nature of this corridor, the overall age of its housing stock aligns with expectations and suggests

26 | The Main Streets initiative What we’ve learned that many units may be reaching the end of their lifecycle and CENTRE RETAIL FEATURES may be ready for redevelopment. The result is a total of some 3,286 residential units built over the next 25 years, starting more slowly between 2016 and 2020.

Centre Street N has about 358,000 square feet of office space accounting for about 0.44% of the city wide inventory. It is C important to note that most of the existing buildings are still fully 6% leased, despite the recent economic slowdown and high overall vacancy rates. As of December 2015, there were no proposed 10 m. sq. ft. retail vacancy office properties within the Centre Street N corridor boundary.

POPULATION OF COMMUNITIES NEAR MAIN STREET 30000 Significant 50 sq. ft. per capita 25000 Destination Retail sq. ft. per capita 2024 56

20000 Dominant food 15000 13% services and bars/ Dominant clothing nightclubs 10000 and accessories 20% (notably along (Includes communities of: Crescent Heights, Highland Park, Corridors) 5000 Thorncli e, Tuxedo Park)

0 1980 1990 2000 2010 640,000 sq. ft. proposed retail

5 AGE GROUPS

25% 26% 30 Centre ST – A 24% B Overall 21% 25 19% Centre ST North Centre ST South 20 of 16 AV 15% of 16 AV 16% 14% 14% 15 11% 11% 11% 11% 7% 7% 7% 10 6% 6% 6% 5% 5% 5% 4% 4% 4% 4% 5% 5 0 3% 3% 3% 0 0-4 5-14 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65-74 75+ 0-4 5-14 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65-74 75+ 0-4 5-14 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65-74 75+

The Main Streets initiative What we’ve learned | 27