Calgary

Promoting pleasant environments to shop
David Parker, For The Calgary Herald

Business Revitalization Zones are doing wonderful work in Calgary, but I wonder if newcomers to our city know about them or what they do. Business Revitalization Zones (BRZs) are made up of businesses within nine Calgary areas, each with an executive director working under a volunteer board of directors.

Their job is to promote businesses within their specific zones while striving to enhance the attractiveness and livability of the area. A good example are design improvements to 1st Street S.W. by the Victoria Crossing Business Revitalization Zone, where the patterned sidewalks, lighting and furniture have made it a much more pleasant pedestrian street.

Most zones would classify themselves as being inner city -- Downtown, Fourth Street, Kensington, Marda Loop, Inglewood, Victoria Crossing and Uptown 17 -- but Bowness and International Avenue are just as vibrant.
International Avenue executive director Alison Karim-McSwiney and her board have worked hard to promote and create a more pleasant environment in which to shop and live. New benches and trash receptacles have been installed and trees planted, 300 of which are now in Unity Park under a scheme to "put the forest back in Forest Lawn." It's all being done to lend a new look to the street and encourage development.

A report recently released gave Calgary a top-of-the-class grade on a global scorecard for overall economic prosperity. The city was the lone metropolis in a survey of international commerce heavyweights to earn an A grade in the Calgary Economic Development-commissioned Conference Board of Canada report. And its longtime northern nemesis wasn't far behind, with Edmonton ringing in third and Dallas sandwiched at second between Alberta's two major centres in the 23-city ranking.

In March 2009, for the first time since September 2008 SFH sales broke through the 1000 mark, registering 1086 sales and condos also recorded the most sales since September 2008 with a total of 446.

There has also been an increase over February’s 2009 numbers. Single Family Home sales are up 32% while Condos are up 30%.  Again, as has been the case for the past several months, these month-over-month increases need to be tempered by comparing them to last year’s numbers: Single Family Home sales were down 23% from last March when 1418 changed hands. This increase in activity from the dismal end of 2008 and early 2009 is certainly a positive development but it is to be expected as the spring months always garner more sales, but typically following this increase in sales comes an increase in more listings as sellers see spring as the ideal time to list properties.