Centre City

When our Centre City thrives, so does the rest of the city. That's why it's vitally important for The City and the community to invest its support in planning and creating a livable, thriving and caring core.The City’s Centre City team supports projects and planning throughout the Centre City - keep reading to find out more on what is happening.

Calgary's Centre City is bound by the Bow and Elbow Rivers to the north and east and 
17 Avenue to the south and 14 Street to the west. It includes communities such as the Downtown, East Village, Beltline, Downtown West End, Eau Claire and Chinatown.

In 2007, based on extensive citizen input, City Council adopted the Centre City Plan, a vision document that describes what the Centre City could look like in 30 years. The Centre City Plan is a coordinated strategy document that pulls together the vision for the Centre City along with strategies and actions relating to land use planning, economic, cultural, social development, and governance. With the adoption of the Centre City Plan (CPC2007-049), a recommendation for regular monitoring and reporting was included.

In January 2017, the Centre City Plan was identified as one of 28 Council policies to be amended. It’s time to review and refresh the original Centre City Plan. An update to the Centre City Plan is an opportunity to refocus Calgary’s energy and reinvigorate a commitment to success in the Centre City. Additionally, there are also opportunities to align with corporate initiatives underway such as the preparation of the refreshed Calgary Economic Strategy, One Calgary (The City’s Strategic Plan for 2019-2022), and Calgary’s Economic Resilience Strategy.

The Centre City Plan will be a yearlong refresh project, with the updated Centre City Plan being presented to Calgary Planning Commission in 2019.

Calgary's Centre City is where:

• 161,500 people work.
• 31,000 residential units and approx. 41,000 people live within the core, making up 3 per cent of Calgary's total population.
• Over 25 parks, hundreds of events, shops and restaurants bring vibrancy to the core.
• Features an array of modern skyscrapers and office towers and historic sandstone buildings
• Features an array of modern skyscrapers and office towers as well as historic sandstone buildings.
• Calgarians are employed in major industries such as oil and gas extraction, professional, scientific and technical services.
• A 28 per cent office space vacancy rate (totaling 11.7 million sq.ft)
• Significant change is expected over the next 30 years to accommodate the addition of up to 40,000 new residents and over 60,000 new employees by 2035. New services, buildings, and public spaces are required to successfully integrate this dynamic growth.

What we're working on:

• Beltline Area Redevelopment Plan Amendments
• Centre City Banner program
  
• Centre Street Sign Bylaw
• Centre City Urban Design Guidelines Project
• Century Gardens Park Redevelopment
  
• Downtown West Initiatives​
• Engaging Vulnerable People
• Green Line LRT Station Area Planning
• Rivers District Master Plan
• West Eau Claire Plaza
• 5 Street SW Underpass Improvement Plan
  
• +15

There are many projects occurring throughout the city. View a list of all Planning & Development current projects.​