New initiative highlights growing housing concern

The City of Calgary has embarked on a three-year strategy to develop a more "age-friendly" city in light of some estimates that have the local senior population nearly doubling within the next decade.

Dubbed the Seniors Age-Friendly Strategy, the plan calls for the creation of community networks focused on issues such as housing, transportation and mobility.

Proposed actions include increasing the provincial standard for provincially funded affordable housing from 10 to 15 per cent, advocating for sustainable provincial funding for the development of new affordable housing and introducing a Land Use Bylaw Amendment to allow for more secondary suites.

Developer hands keys over to community 

Nearly two decades after it was first constructed, Panorama Hills' e-Community Centre is officially being handed over to the community in which it resides.

Genstar Development Co., the developer behind the northeast Calgary community, will turn over ownership of the two-and-a-half hectare private park to the Northstar Residents' Association, by way of a volunteer board of directors, on April 1, 2016.

The ownership change was part of a long-term plan after Genstar built the facility in the late 1990s. The developer agreed to maintain and operate the facility before handing over control to the Northstar Residents Association, which encompasses residents in Panorama Hills and neighbouring Hanson Ranch.

The original agreement had the cutover occurring on or before April 1, 2026.

Real estate group applauds exclusion of land transfer tax

The Alberta NDP plan to run a $6.1-billion deficit in 2015-2016, the largest in more than two decades, fueled primarily by increased infrastructure spending and the province's contracting economy.

In its provincial budget, released Tuesday, Finance Minister Joe Ceci also announced plans to borrow $712 million next year, which ends a nearly 20-year run of debt-free operations.

"This is the right budget for the right time," said Ceci, noting the party promises a return to balance by 2019-20.

Province to end public consultation of first phase Oct. 30

Albertans still have time to provide input on amendments to the province's condo property act, which is seeking to provide condo owners with easier access to information and quicker dispute resolutions.

Leading up to Oct. 30, Albertans are being invited to review and weigh in on updates to the Condominium Property Act by clicking here.

To review a draft copy of the first phase of regulations, click here.

Experts debate whether mini meeting spaces will replace traditional parks

You may have never heard of a parklet, but chances are good you've walked or driven past one. Maybe you've even sat in one, enjoying a coffee or a chat with a friend on a warm afternoon.

"You're taking a space that would normally not be a public space, maybe part of a road, and you're converting it," said Byron Miller, an associate professor of geography at the University of Calgary and co-ordinator of school's Urban Studies program.

"It's about expanding the public realm to create new spaces where people can interact."

When home becomes an obstacle course

Home is where many Calgarians seek refuge, rest and relaxation. Yet for people with limited mobility, home can become a stressful obstacle course where everyday tasks are nearly impossible.

"People don't know that their neighbour three houses over is trapped in their home, and with an aging population, I think we're going to see it all the more," said Jeff Dyer, executive director of Accessible Housing Calgary.

"The need (for accessible housing) is really great. It's a very hidden problem."

Scaring others a family tradition for Calgary household

For most of the year, Calgarians go to great lengths to boost their homes' curb appeal. After all, removing unwanted trash and old rubbish to make a home welcoming is part of what makes a neighbourhood great.

Yet around this time of the year, these same people will do their best to make their homes as unwelcoming as possible – when those old garbage bags, stained sheets and broken furniture become valued commodities.

Welcome to Halloween in Calgary.

Higher inventory levels consistent throughout surrounding area

Alberta's economic downturn caught up with the residential housing industry outside of Calgary in the third quarter as price declined for the first time in 2015, says a new report from CREB®.

Despite the slight scale back, prices remained relatively resilient when compared to double-digit declines in sales that sparked a rise in inventory levels.

In its latest surrounding area quarterly summary, CREB® reported benchmark prices from July to September fell by 0.41 per cent from the previous quarter to $433,033. That compares to gains realized in the two previous quarters.

Residents tout benefits of acreage living

Anna Garcia loves her neighbours.

The Bragg Creek resident says they're relatively quiet, active and the kids are cute.

Did she mention they're a family of moose?

"We saw her (the mom) almost daily, licking right off our deck. Those moments are spectacular. It makes us feel exceptionally lucky," said Garcia.

The lure of living so close to nature was too much for Garcia and her husband to resist when the couple uprooted from Willow Park in southeast Calgary to their largely forested Bragg Creek acreage in 2001, where Garcia's husband also owns a furniture business.

Q&A with SAIT Polytechnic School of Construction dean Scott MacPherson

The homebuilding industry is undergoing unprecedented change – from new technologies to a new-look workforce. Calgary, in particular, has witnessed, and even ushered, much of this change first-hand, thanks in part to SAIT Polytechnic's School of Construction.

CREB®Now recent sat down with the school's dean Scott MacPherson to talk about everything from densification to East Coast dinner parties.