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The BRZ
 Since the late-1960s, the community of Victoria Park was a
pawn in a game of land chess between the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede and
the City of Calgary. The outcome of the game was pretty certain;
East Victoria Park was going to be redeveloped. The questions were when and by
whom?
A small window of hope emerged for East Victoria Park when
it was announced that Calgary
would be hosting the 1988 Winter Olympics. The decision to build the new Olympic Coliseum (known today as the
Saddledome) in Victoria Park was certainly not without opposition, yet there
were those who believed that the Olympics would bring new and positive changes
to Victoria Park.
It was thought that the City would provide the means to turn
East Victoria back into the vibrant community
it once was. After all, this was to be the site of one of the most important
venues for the Olympics.
Unfortunately the '88 winter games did not result in the
revitalization many were hoping for. Journalists at the time commented on the
disheveled state of the area surrounding Stampede Park,
and many Calgarians wondered why more was not done to help clean the area up. The
answer came the following year when it was discovered that the
Stampede had, over the last couple of months, successfully purchased just under
half of East Victoria's land for its expansion purposes. Unfortunately for the
community this meant that until the bulldozers came (almost 15 years later) nothing
would change. Buildings were condemned one by one and the community went from
stagnation to outright freefall.
In response to this continued urban decay, and in an effort
to encourage development and revitalize a long neglected community, a group of
local business owners came together in 1997 to form the Victoria Crossing
Business Revitalization Zone.
BRZs are a Canadian invention. The first began in Toronto more than 30 years ago in response to issues similar
to those Calgary
was facing. In forming a BRZ, merchants
and businesses would contribute small amounts of money in order to collectively
create and influence change in an area.
In 1998, with approval from several key groups including the
City of Calgary,
the Stampede, the Victoria Community Association and the Victoria Property
Owners Association, the newly formed BRZ commissioned a plan called Revitalizing
Victoria Crossing in an effort to chart a new course for the community. In June
1998, East Victoria's remaining property
owners agreed to sell to the Stampede marking an end to a long and controversial
process.
 The Victoria Park Redevelopment Committee was formed that
same year and soon after, private investors began to take a keen interest in
the area. Revitalization started to take place in the late 1990s with the
rejuvenation of the area's warehouses.
The future for Victoria Park, and indeed the entire Beltline,
was beginning to look very promising yet there was one last hurdle to overcome
before the area's full potential could be realized. Land Use and Planning Policies for the area
were still based on decades old principles - principles that would not yield
the high quality results businesses and community members wanted to see. This was the catalyst for starting one of the
most in-depth and comprehensive planning exercises in the history of Calgary - The Beltline
Initiative. Approved as the Beltline
Area Redevelopment Plan in 2006, Victoria Park was now officially on its way to
becoming Calgary's
first true high density mixed use community.
Today, Victoria Park is well on its way to redefining what
urban living is for Calgarians. It is an exciting proposition - rebuilding a community and
promoting a new way of living. It is
exciting because we, right now, are shaping the future and we need you to be a
part of that future.
Please stay in touch with us as, over the next few
months, we prepare to launch the brand new Victoria Park and a future that we
hope will carry us through another 100 years of change.
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Current & Upcoming Projects
- Work is currently underway for the new victoriapark.org website! What changes and features would you like to see on the new site? Send us your suggestions and feedback by replying to this e-mail at newsletter@vcrossing.com.
 Over the next couple of weeks the BRZ office, with the help of a professional photographer, will be embarking on a photography project of the area. We are seeking to create an inventory of high quality images to showcase the essence of Victoria Park on the new website, as well as for use in future promotion of the area.
What we're looking for:
- Dynamic and vibrant images
- Photographs that feature some of our best assets and amenities
- Photographs that will incent people to come down and see the area for themselves
How you can help:
We're looking for photo opportunities that convey the urban essence of the area. Is your business holding a special function or event? Are you interested in collaborating with us to shoot high quality images of your business? Let us know. For more information on this special initiative or to discuss your additional participation, please contact the BRZ office at (403) 265-2888 or send us a note at newsletter@vcrossing.com.
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