Best Master-Planned Neighbourhoods in Calgary

Calgary, Alberta, has experienced the development of a number of master-planned neighbourhoods at the edges of the city over the past 50 years. These communities seek to provide residents with outdoor recreational opportunities, including extensive trail and park systems, while providing a host of amenities and easy access to the city.

With Calgary's growing population, master-planned communities play an integral role in ensuring the city can continue to deliver a high quality of life for its residents. The amenities and resources available to residents of master-planned communities assure all the city's residents have ready access to essential services, while avoiding the isolation from urban conveniences that some suburban neighbourhoods experience. Read on to see if one of the best master-planned neighbourhoods in Calgary may be the right fit for you.

Artesia at Heritage Pointe

This master-planned community was recognized as Calgary's 2018 "Community of the Year". Many of the homesites overlook the community's scenic waterways and rolling green terrain.

Located in South Calgary, Artesia at Heritage Pointe consists of about 150 housing units, built by three award-winning, luxury home builders: August Fine Homes, Brookfield Residential, and Homes by Avi.

Residents in the luxury home market appreciate that the community's skilfully designed homes offer them a level of privacy that can be difficult to find in many upscale neighbourhoods. Artesia also built sustainability into the development, with its own solar energy initiatives, and innovative irrigation and rainwater harvesting systems.

Residents can enjoy the community's atmosphere of living outside the urban cityscape, yet still remaining close enough to easily access downtown Calgary. Another draw is the proximity to the growing Seton Urban District, a mere 7 minutes away. The Seton Urban District has been characterized as an urban core outside the urban core, due to its array of retail and entertainment options.

Rockland Park

Rockland Park will be one of the first master-planned communities developed in Northwest Calgary in over 10 years. It is being developed as a planned community surrounded by nature, including the Bow River, mountain views, parks, and scenic waterways and ponds.

To achieve its goal of providing ample access to the outdoors, the community will have over 120 acres of parks, with a system of multi-use pavements, paths and trails. Built on the site of a former quarry, the community is dedicated to connecting with the natural surroundings, taking advantage of the waterways and terrain to provide year-round recreational opportunities for those who live there. Rockland Park also emphasizes sustainability through its development design and the use of existing vegetation to enhance the community.

Rockland Park's focal point will be a 6,500-square-foot community facility set on a four-acre park, which will serve as the centre hub for community events, programs, and services, with an emphasis on health and wellness.

In addition to its residential area, Rockland Park will feature a commercial space of 85,000 square feet of retail, services, dining, and a spacious outdoor plaza. The community will also include a neighbourhood school for grades K through 9.

Cranston's Riverstone

Cranston's Riverstone is aptly named, given its location on the edge of the Bow River. The community is surrounded by a nature reserve and takes advantages of the area's natural beauty and topography, with trails that provide access to the reserve and lead through the scenic hills, often offering stunning views.

But Riverstone has even more to offer residents beyond the natural landscape. The community offers easy access to shops and services. In addition to two nearby shopping centres and its own market, the community is adjacent to the Seton Urban District, offering a wealth of shopping, restaurants, and entertainment.

The Cranston's Residents' Association maintains a 22,000-square-foot lifestyle centre that serves as a gathering place for the community's residents, whether for events and celebrations or taking part in community-based health and wellness programs. Additionally, the grounds include a seven-acre private park, featuring a splash pad, playground, toboggan hill, skating rink, and tennis and basketball courts. Cranston's Riverstone also features its own community school and is near four golf courses.

Livingston

Located in North Calgary, the community of Livingston makes use of a network of trails, interconnected parks, and walkable streets to promote a healthy, active lifestyle. In addition to its parks, the community offers direct access to the city's Rotary Greenway.

Livingston is home to Alberta's largest homeowners association facility. The centre serves as the community's primary gathering place and event facility, at over 35,000 square feet. The facility houses three skating rinks, a gymnasium, tennis and basketball courts, a playground, an outdoor amphitheatre, a splash park, and meeting rooms, among other amenities.

The community is still under development, but promises to emerge as a major commercial hub, with the goal of offering enough employment to meet the needs of nearly 7,000 people. Once complete, the development is expected to grow as a major retail centre, offering over one million square feet of retail, service, and commercial space.

Those needing to travel to other areas of the metro and beyond will find easy access to major arteries as well as public transit, with the anticipation of expanded service in the future.

Seton

Seton is a popular master-planned community in the South Calgary area. The residential portion of the community includes about 577 acres of homes and open spaces, walkable streets, a system of trails, and other amenities.

Seton is probably best known for the Seton Urban District, recognized for mixed-use development, covering about 365 acres that continues to grow with retail, restaurants, markets, lodging, and public buildings. The world's largest YMCA is located in the Seton Urban District, as is the Cineplex, Calgary's first VIP Cineplex with seating for 1,900. The district is also home to the South Health Campus and hospital.

The Seton community has made education a priority, with Joane Cardinal-Schubert High School opening in 2018 and another four schools in the works.

The community is planning a 7,000-square-foot community centre, the Social House, that will be located adjacent to a private park, for use by neighbourhood residents and their guests. The Social House will provide a hockey rink, tennis courts, gardens, a splash park, an entertainment space, and other amenities.

The Rise at West Grove Estates

The Rise at West Grove Estates is a master-planned neighbourhood within the community of West Springs in Southwest Calgary. The Rise at West Grove Estates offers its residents a number of modern amenities within the neighbourhood, with a location that puts it just 10 kilometres from Calgary's downtown. Additionally, the community provides a quick route to head out of the city for those weekend mountain getaways.

The community of West Spring offers residents of The Rise at West Grove Estates the opportunity to enjoy several parks and greenspaces, as well as local schools, public transit, and numerous recreational activities. The concept behind The Rise at West Grove Estates is to offer families and individuals the chance to live, work, and relax in an area that provides ready access to walking trails, parks, and the beauty of the area's natural surroundings.

The neighbourhood has positioned homes so that residents are always within convenient walking distance to one of the neighbourhood's eight parks. Additional outdoor amenities include a playground, a recreational soccer pitch, and a pathway system for hiking or biking.

Residents benefit from the nearby West 85^th shopping experience, featuring exclusive retail opportunities as well as commercial leasing and Calgary condo living.

Chinook Gate

Chinook Gate is a master-planned community adjacent to Chinook Winds Park, a 55-plus-acre developed parkland that offers an extensive system of pathways, skating, baseball fields, beach volleyball, and more. The goal of the development is to create a community where residents feel connected and have ready access to a host of amenities, as well as outdoor activities.

The neighbourhood's residential areas are linked by pathway to its green space. Additionally, Chinook Gate boasts eight baseball diamonds and a skate park.

Chinook Gate is known for its innovative architecture. The community is being developed by four builders: Avalon, Brookfield Residential, Excel Homes, and McKee Homes. The community offers detached homes, duplex, and townhome designs, with the latter offering floor plans that combine living and workspace to form live-work townhomes. These plans call for the main floor to serve as the work-at-home area or the location of a home-based business. The neighbourhood is within proximity of shopping and schools.

Redstone

Redstone is a high-end neighbourhood located in the northeast Calgary area. The community stretches along Stoney Trail Northeast and continues south to 128 Ave Northeast. Commercial lots and parklands are set here and there between the residential areas for the ultimate convenience for all the residents.

In this master-planned community, prospective residents have many two-storey homes to consider. Most of the homes are between 2,000 and 2,500 square feet and have relatively open floorplans. The dwellings come with front-attached garages and all the amenities residents could want in a home.

Executive kitchen layouts are standard, complete with gas ranges, built-in wall ovens, and luxury finishes like stainless steel and quartz. Many homes also have a separate spice kitchen, electric fireplaces, and vaulted ceilings. Redstone homes carry prices in the $800,000 range, depending on the property size, location, and layout.

Upon moving to this community, residents always have a great place to walk, thanks to the 2.3-kilometre path running through the neighbourhood. Ample green spaces give people of all ages a place to stay active, play sports, and simply enjoy the great outdoors. As residents travel through the community space, they can easily find a great place to eat, like Cal City Pizza.

Redstone Hot Spots

• Not Just Curry Ltd.
• Ekam Tiffin Service
• YYC Burgers and More
• Redstone Plaza Park
• Redstone Soccer Field

The Lake at Heritage Pointe

The Lake at Heritage Pointe is a sophisticated community with exceptional home designs and quick access to many local greenspaces. Located just south of Calgary, this desirable neighbourhood has over 490 single-family homes in various styles. The 28-acre manmade lake sits in the middle of the community, allowing many residents to live right on the lakeside.

Many of the homes were originally built in the 1990s and feature a single-story layout. Since then, local builders have planned around those properties to improve the space with multiple-story modern homes further. Homes for sale in Heritage Point range in price from $670,000 to over $1.4 million as a result. The exact price of each property depends on its location, style, and amenities.

While living here, residents enjoy the serene atmosphere in Okotoks while being only 10 minutes outside of Calgary. They can always enjoy a quiet outdoor day by heading to the Heritage Pointe Golf Club. This 18-hole public golf course has well-maintained fairways and plenty of challenges for visitors to conquer. In between games, they can stop by the onsite restaurant for tasty drinks and a meal to remember.

Residents are never far from even more fun and excitement at all the shopping, dining, and entertainment establishments in the heart of Calgary. There are boutique shops, museums, art galleries, and many top-notch eateries in the downtown area alone, like Caesar's Steak House & Lounge.

The Lake at Heritage Point Hot Spots

• Willows Spa & Coffee Bar
• Stockman's Restaurant & Lounge
• Oasis Greens Golf Centre
• MyWalkies Dog Park
• House of Blooms

Make Your Home in Calgary

Like many large metro areas, Calgary is focused on the impact of growth and the need for further development. The city's master-planned communities seek to provide residents with the best of both worlds. These popular Calgary neighbourhoods encourage connectivity among those who live there, in addition to offering many of the most essential and sought-after amenities without the need to drive into the city's hub.

Many of these communities tap into the area's natural surroundings, providing residents with extensive systems of walkways, trails and parks. At the same time, these communities are being developed with commercial and retail districts within or very close to residential developments, making them some of Calgary's most walkable neighbourhoods. Whether looking for an upscale living experience or a more affordable area, the master-planned communities in Calgary provide homebuyers with just what they're looking for.