'Don't screw it up!': How Calgary's University District came to thrive, a decade after Nenshi quip

Spend enough time at city council meetings or reading through the Homes section of the Calgary Herald, and the buzzwords used by developers start to blend together.

Walkable. Mixed-use. Urban village. Stakeholder consultation. Complete community.

These themes are repeated over and over as new developments are proposed and debated in this fast-growing city. Once approved, however, the end results don't always match the artists' renderings.

The whims of the housing, retail and office-space markets can get in the way of a multi-decade development plan, preventing visions from becoming reality. Sometimes opposition from neighbouring communities limits what can be done. Sometimes execution is simply lacking.

For University District — a major development on an expanse of land that sat vacant for decades, just west of the University of Calgary campus — expectations were set high from the get-go.

"This particular project will change the face of the city forever," then-mayor Naheed Nenshi said in 2014, when city council unanimously approved the project.

Then, speaking directly to the project's then-CEO James Robertson, Nenshi issued a light-hearted but sincere warning: "It is a remarkable opportunity. Don't screw it up!"

Fast-forward nearly a decade, and University District is living up to its billing.

How has it succeeded — so far, at least — where other developments have sometimes fallen short of expectations? Ask those who were directly involved in the project, who watched it closely from the outside, and who live there now. You'll hear some similar answers: meticulous planning, curated retail offerings, genuine walkability and some natural advantages to this particular parcel of land.

Oh, and building the dog park first.

University District is already home to about 2,000 people, with homes for another 1,000 residents under construction. It won the Best Growing Community Award from the Canadian Home Builders' Association last year. When all is said and done, the development is expected to house nearly 15,000 people.

The master plan also calls for 300,000 square feet of retail space, about 60 per cent of which is under construction or already in place, including a major grocery store.

The main street is home to a deliberately curated mix of shops and services, including full-service and grab-and-go restaurants, a pet store, a gym, a wine market, a bakery, a cannabis store, a hair salon, a daycare and a movie theatre — giving residents most of their daily needs within an easy walk.

"I think it's amazing how the plan has come to fruition," said urbanist Richard White, who has watched University District grow over the years and written numerous articles about the development.