https://www.breweryraillands.com is a link I recently stumbled upon on twitter. What do I think of this? Well, first of all, I am cautiously optimistic, but if it proceeds I’d be ecstatic. The developer behind this hasn’t exactly hit a home run regarding the Westbrook station redevelopment though. Putting it mildly, the weed carpeted Westbrook lands continues to hurt the Killarney motherland. What was once looked upon so optimistically has brought forth our inner cynic, at this point, we have no idea when/if/ever this land will be developed, and until it does, a westside inner city regional centrepiece remains derelict. Derelict yes, but this pales in comparison to a really derelict site, the Inglewood brewery lands, with a history that extends back to the late 1800’s, that is some serious Calgary heritage. Matco is saying all the right things;
A 20-acre compact, livable, mixed-use and transit-supportive redevelopment where leading-edge anchor institutions, urban light industrial businesses and employment clusters support new urban housing
This development proceeding would be excellent for my operations, as I have essentially rolled the dice on Inglewood as a great place to be (which it will remain even if the brewery lands development does not proceed). However, in a spread out city with a dearth of heritage buildings, and the character that comes along with it, this project could be a boon to the heart of Inglewood. Inglewood has a gritty urban feel in some of its alleyways and an abundance of old brick and sandstone accented low rise buildings. Restored brick buildings in the brewery area would be fantastic especially a mixed use new/old employment centre 200 m walk from my project site, along with new urban housing. To me ‘new urban housing’ means condo lofts and townhomes, exactly what I am not going to be building. All that the more dense new building will do is make detached homes all the more precious and unique.
An aerial view of the brewery lands and the rail yard beyond. Imagine this area landscaped with the treed canopy as in the background of 10th and 11th avenues. And some of the industrial metal siding stripped off to reveal century old brick facades, with new buildings sprinkled among the dilapidated parts containing housing, jobs, and shops. that is really exciting. Even better would be a pedestrian connector to a new train station if the green line is built. Who will pay for all of this? I’m guessing Mrs. and Mr. Taxpayer will have to ante up or it can’t be built by the private sector.