Richmond Green Park, including the former Richmond Green golf course in southwest Calgary, is being assessed for redevelopment and raising concerns for people who live in the area.
The City of Calgary owns the 52 acres of land built on two crucial water reservoirs, between Sarcee Road SW and Crowchild Trail SW, which includes the former Richmond Green golf course, tennis courts, three baseball diamonds, a small office building, toboggan hill, playground and a large amount of empty space.
In late 2020, council directed the city’s real estate division to prepare a land use application for redevelopment of roughly five acres of land on the northwestern portion of the site. The city plans to use the money obtained from selling the land to rework and reinvigorate the remaining 46 acres into a green space to be enjoyed by the community.
Ward 8 Coun. Evan Wooley said the project is all about the funding.
“This is a creative idea to fund awesome amenities for the park.”
Recently, the city held a virtual town hall meeting to gauge how the public feels about the proposed land development.
More than 300 people attended the online event, voicing their concerns over what the proposed project would mean for the park. Many are worried about losing valuable inner-city green space.
Others were uneasy over selling park space, and why the city needs to sell any land at all.
“What exactly is the reason we should sell this park?” one person asked during the online event.
City representatives assured the public there will actually be an increase in green space through redeveloping the courtyard in the southern area of the park and turning the entire space into a green zone.
Tom Schlodder from Planning and Development at the City of Calgary explains that the feedback is going to help influence administration and help inform the recommendation that they will be making to council and the Calgary planning commission once this application moves forward.
“With all of this feedback, it certainly has the power to influence it.”
The city urges the residents to be forthcoming with their opinions on the matter, as the city council plans to render a verdict in the near future, an exact date is still uncertain.