Calgary Home + Garden Show and Revolve Furnishings give $5,000 to Women in Need Society

Two Calgary groups have banded together to make a donation to a Calgary society in the practice of giving back to those who need it most.

After Calgary's Women in Need Society (WINS) retail stores saw three separate robberies in December, the Calgary Home + Garden Show and Revolve Furnishings took the initiative of making a $5,000 donation.

"While we recover, we desperately need to rebuild our inventory to ensure that our programs are not negatively impacted by these incidents," said Yvette Rasmussen, communications and development with WINS.

Local competition to spur creative thinking for underutilized Calgary areas

A local non-profit association is holding a competition in the hopes the lost becomes found again with some of Calgary's less attractive spots.

The Lost Spaces competition – held by d.talks, a grassroots organization dedicated to "fostering collaborative and engaging public conversation about design and the built environment" – is a call for architects, artists, designers, engineers and students to come up with ideas to enhance "under-utilized" pieces of Calgary's urban environment.

"Lost spaces are kind of complicated spaces. They're the kind of remnants ... they're often fairly underutilized and they're complex in the fact where they're situated, how they're situated, in the urban environment," said d.talks co-founder Amery Calvelli.

Attainable Homes Calgary Corp. president David Watson talks new developments and more

Buying a home just got a lot easier for some Calgarians.

Local builder Partners Development Group has committed 10 per cent of its upcoming multi-family homes developments to Attainable Homes Calgary Corp. (AHCC). AHCC is a non-profit organization delivering entry-level homes for Calgarians caught in the affordability gap. Those who qualify can get into the market with a mortgage pre-approval and only $2,000 down.

"We work with AHCC as a way to give back to Calgary, helping more middle-income Calgarians get into home ownership through this socially responsible program," said Greg Gutek, Partners Development Group president and founder. "We're looking at our future Calgary developments to see how we can adjust the design and density to include more attainably-priced homes."

East Village continues growth in 2015, announces rental offering

Calgary Municipal Land Corp. (CMLC) president and CEO Michael Brown has proclaimed 2015 the Year of the Resident for Calgary's East Village.

Starting out as a blighted area between Inglewood and the downtown, East Village is fast becoming one of Calgary's most sought-after communities.

After being set for revitalization in 2007, the first residents will start moving in this May. Two condo towers in the community, FIRST and Fram + Slokker will open in May and August respectively, to about 800 of East Village's newest residents.

Earlier this month the City of Calgary mailed out more than half a million property and business assessment notices marking the beginning of a 60-day customer review period - here's a breakdown of some of the numbers.

03/06: Changes to 2015 assessments can only be made if received during the customer review period running until March 6.

$475,000: The 2015 median single residential assessment is $475,000 compared to $430,000 in 2014

It's a busy mail day for the City of Calgary as they're mailing more than half a million property and business assessment notices.

Today also marks the start of a 60-day customer review period.

"We are committed to delivering fair and equitable assessments and encourage all property and business owners to carefully review their assessment and contact us during the customer review period if you have any questions of concerns," said Nelson Karpa, director and assessor with the City.

Once considered a bit of a blight on Calgary's landscape, the emerging East Village is fast becoming a sought-after destination for both residential living and entertainment seekers.

Here's some photos throughout the last few years of it's evolution.

From National Hockey League stars Eric, Jordan and Marc Staal who played on a backyard rink in their Ontario farmyard - not to mention the hundreds, if not thousands, of other professional hockey players - to the youngest of skaters eagerly watching their parents prepare the ice for them, the backyard rink is as Canadian as the game of hockey itself.

Here's some tips on turning your backyard into a icy mecca:

28.7%: In February, condo apartment sales increased 28.7 per cent over January

10: The Provincial government promises 10 new schools for Calgary suburbs

28,017: Net migration to Calgary in 2014, according to the 2014 Civic Census, was 28,017 additional residents

2,242: Auburn Bay saw the most additional residents with 2,242 according to the Civic Census

Despite declining oil prices, city sees record in-migration, condo sales

You could almost say 2014 was a banner year for Calgary.

Almost.

The city welcomed a record number of newcomers, with the addition of 38,508 residents elevating the total population to almost 1.2 million.

Sales activity in the condo sector came close to, and might have even broken, records.

And the long-awaited Bill 9 Condominium Act passed, providing more protection for condo owners.

"It was a good year," said Mayor Naheed Nenshi. "Now, toward the very end of the year, we're certainly starting to see some economic headwinds."