Sikome Aquatic Facility buoyed by upgrades

While Alberta is landlocked, and most of Calgary's manmade lakes are private, Calgarians still like to spend a warm, summer day at the beach every now and then. Thankfully, there's still one public body of water within the city where people can go for a swim or throw down a towel to catch some rays.

Nestled in Fish Creek Provincial Park, the Sikome Aquatic Facility has been one of Calgary's most popular summer attractions since it opened in 1978.

The facility consists of an open-air swimming lake surrounded by a beach, lawn, children's playground and change rooms. It currently draws an estimated 200,000 visitors over its three-month season and up to 15,000 per day on weekends. While those are impressive numbers, Sikome's location in southeast Calgary is in one of the fastest growing sections of the city amd means traffic should continue to rise.

In part to accommodate the growing crowds, the facility recently underwent some upgrades.

Amy Shafer found her own private oasis in Watermark at Bearspaw

Amy Shafer grew up on a farm, so when it came to building her dream home, being immersed in nature on the doorstep of wide-open park space was a top priority. She and her husband, and their three children, had been living in Valley Ridge, but just didn't feel connected. Their search for the perfect lot brought them to Watermark in Bearspaw, where they purchased a 1.33-acre home site that backs on to an Aspen grove, a freshwater pond and walking trails. The community features 46 acres of parkland and 16 ponds, and brushes up against the Haskayne Legacy Park, with trails connecting to Calgary and Cochrane.

Marina and Gavin Reeves returned to the core to recapture their inner-city lifestyle

Marina and Gavin Reeves are busy, young professionals – she's an engineer and he's an accountant. Four years ago, they sold their condo in Connaught and moved to the northeast area of Highland Park, where they purchased a larger home, but they soon realized it wasn't the lifestyle fit that they were looking for. The couple ended up coming full-circle, as their lifestyle epiphany spurred a search for a townhome in the city's core. They wanted a home with outdoor space for their two dogs that was also close to transit, coffee shops and the inner-city action. Plus, it had to be big enough to grow into, as the couple plans to start a family in the near future. They found what they were looking for at Grosvenor Americas' Avenue project, located in Calgary's Downtown West End.

Southwest ring road is poised to usher in new era of growth in Calgary's south end

It's been a long time coming, but the southwest section of Calgary's ring road is finally being built, and the city's developer community is among those most thrilled to see construction going ahead.

"It's really going to open up growth in the area, and provide not just opportunities for new communities, but also existing ones," said Steve LePan, director of sales and marketing with Anthem United.

"We're certainly happy to see it moving forward, because it would have had a negative impact (on our development in the area) if it had not been approved."

Extensive system of dog parks makes Calgary a great place to be a canine

If someone told you that Calgary has more than 1,600 football fields worth of space dedicated to man's best friend, you might not believe them. But it's true – according to Todd Reichardt, manager of parks for the City of Calgary's centre city division, almost 20 per cent of Calgary's land inventory is allocated to off-leash dog parks.

"We have a real affinity for dog parks here in the city," said Reichardt. "We have over 150 off-leash sites. Compared with other [North American] cities of similar size, no one else even comes close."

That staggering statistic speaks volumes about communities around Calgary and their love for green spaces. City officials don't merely sprinkle off-leash areas around on a
whim – they're created once community demand reaches a certain level.

Mix of young and old call Calgary's established lake communities home

When D'Arcy Duquette and his family moved to Calgary from Montreal, a lake in their new community was a must-have for his son and daughter.

"I moved them from a home where we had a big in-ground pool in the backyard and were surrounded by lakes," said the 60-year-old transportation industry retiree. "They were spoiled."

After moving into McKenzie Lake, with its 17.5-hectare man-made lake, Duquette's children happily spent summers "in their bathing suits."

McKenzie Lake is one of the older lake communities in Calgary, established in the late 1980s. Like the other more mature lake communities in Calgary, including Lake Bonavista (the first man-made lake in Canada, completed in 1968), Midnapore, Chaparral, Sundance, McKenzie Lake, Arbour Lake and Coral Springs, the majority of homes in McKenzie Lake are single-family and the resale market is the only option for prospective buyers.

Calgary's retail market is expected to remain vibrant over the next 12 months due to an improving economy and rising consumer confidence.

A report by Colliers International in Calgary says the shopping centre vacancy rate in the city is expected to drop slightly from 3.21 per cent to three per cent while streetfront vacancy rates are expected to stabilize and hover around the current rate of 5.75 per cent.

"We are still the number one province on a per capita retail (spending) basis by a significant amount above the national average," said Robert Walker, senior vice-president/partner with Colliers International in Calgary. "That still shows me that despite the vast number of layoffs downtown, the people who are employed are still spending money.

"Our average weekly income is still the highest in the country by a longshot. So they're still spending money."

Parks are especially important in densely developed downtown

"Quality, not quantity" is how City of Calgary parks manager Keath Parker characterizes green spaces in Calgary's downtown core, an area that's not only home to tall office towers, but residential neighbourhoods as well, including the Beltline (Connaught and Victoria Park), East Village and Eau Claire.

Parker explains it wasn't until the mid-1960s that the province's Municipal Government Act (MGA) gave municipalities the authority to take up to 10 per cent of a development for open public space. Residential neighbourhoods developed prior to that tend not to have as much green space as those created after the MGA.

However, Calgary's downtown is still far from a cold, concrete jungle. In fact, there are 24 parks in the downtown area covering roughly 65 hectares of open green space, according to the City.

Calgary's new lake communities experience tremendous growth

Evan Spencer enjoys the benefits of lake community living every day.

Not only does his young family – which includes his wife Anna and their two kids, Sarah and Micah – take advantage of all the recreation opportunities around Mahogany's lake, the 34-year-old doesn't need to step outside his neighbourhood to go to work.

Spencer works in the not-for-profit sector, and has called Mahogany home – and home office – for three years. Since moving from northwest Calgary into the growing southeast community that will have more than 20,000 residents by final build-out, he has signed on as volunteer social committee chair for the Mahogany Homeowners Association.

"It is an inclusive place to live your life," he said. "And the lake just draws people together. It is so important to have that 'third' place (outside home and business) where people can gather. I often say 'do you want to meet up for coffee, or for a walk along the wetlands?' "

Gas stoves offer more control to home cooks

If your trusty old stove is on its last legs, it might be time to consider a switch to a range powered by natural gas.

"All your chefs use gas ranges. It's so easy to control your heat for cooking. It's instant on and instant off," said Peter Voelk, owner of Lone Star Plumbing and Heating. He explains that over time there are also cost savings from using natural gas for cooking instead of electricity.

"We've had a gas stove for years in our home and we just love it. I wouldn't know what to do with an electric stove anymore," he said.

Voelk adds many styles of ranges are available that exclusively use gas for all cooking functions. There are also dual-fuel ranges with gas stovetop burners but a traditional electric element oven.