Building Downtown Connections - Calgary Downtown Strategy Open House

Photos by: Fritz Tolentino

The Downtown Strategy team had their second in-person Open House of 2023! Attendees heard exciting updates and announcements about ‘Building Downtown Connections’ in the Nexen Building Atrium. 

This event focused on Downtown West and how The City and their partners are building downtown connections through design, programming and people. Attendees had the chance to: 

• Hear updates regarding 8 Street S.W. and Stephen Avenue

• Hear the announcement of the winner of the RiverWalk West Design Competition

• Learn more about the importance of public realm spaces

Bird Creatives was thrilled to work as the event producer for the open house! The event featured trade show-style booth activations that featured city, community, and art partners including Alcove Centre for the Arts, Calgary Municipal Land Corporation, Stantec, Downtown Calgary, Sport Calgary, and the City of Calgary. For live entertainment, we brought in DJ Fatrok as our DJ and emcee. Live performances were provided by Three Left Feet and Little Red Ball Company. Food and drinks were provided by local Calgary establishments including Alforno, Loophole Coffee Bar, and Business & Pleasure.

The event featured notable speakers including Ward 7 Councillor Wong, Jyoti Gondek, Mayor of The CIty of Calgary, and Thom Mahler, Director of Downtown Strategy, who spoke on the Downtown Calgary Development Incentive Program. 

A panel discussion on the topic of the revitalization in Downtown West and the key connections made in transforming the area occurred with 

• Sheryl McMullen, Manager Investment & Marketing, The City of Calgary

• Nancy MacDonald, Vice President Urban Places, Stantec

• Harrison Gallelli, Director of Public Realm Experience, Calgary Downtown Association

Another panel discussion about 8 Street S.W., Stephen Avenue and the importance of public realm spaces occurred with:

• Joyce Tang, Leader Greater Downtown, The City of Calgary

• Sofie Kvist, Director, Gehl

• Brent Raymond, Partner, DTAH

• Kate Thompson, President & CEO, Calgary Municipal Land Corporation

• Danyka LaBelle, Jury Member, RiverWalk West

Lastly, a panel discussion on the importance of programming public spaces and success stories like the Century Gardens Basketball Tri-Courts, the Alcove Centre for the Arts and future opportunities for programming occurred with

• Natalie Marchut, Manager of Development & Strategy, The City of Calgary

• Sheila Taylor, CEO, Parks Foundation Calgary

• Jason Ribeiro, Vice-Chairman & President, the Calgary Surge

• Priscilla Cherry, Community Organizer, The Oratory

• Catriona le May Doan, President & CEO, Sport Calgary

We’re incredibly excited about the positive growth Calgary has seen in the short term, and look forward to the next open house where we’ll be able to share new developments on city-wide initiatives and projects!

Visit Downtown Strategy to learn more about how Calgary is investing in downtown.

Photos by: Fritz Tolentino