University Towns Development Permit Submitted!

Gravity is delighted to share that we have submitted the development permit for the University Towns!

The University District Towns is a 40 unit townhome development for Crystal Creek Homes set out to provide empty nesters looking to downsize more housing options that won’t compromise their lifestyle. Each of the six buildings has between four and eight units and all offer a mix of two-to-three-bedroom configurations each just under 2,000 square feet.

Directly west of the site there will be a future park planned for residents to have direct access to. There will be an additional access point between two of the buildings that leads directly to the City’s regional pathway. Once the park to the west is complete, the townhouses will be surrounded by park space on three sides offering residents a beautiful green space to enjoy as their backyard.

To address the University District's request that this project not mimic the existing surrounding buildings, we chose darker and moodier exterior tones that still respond the modern aesthetic of the community. We complemented these tones with a long reddish brick, adding a sophisticated and classic touch to the contemporary massing.

The interior paved laneway grants residents access to 80 parking stalls inside private garages, and is accessible for visitors to walk through to reach the green space to the north from the street to the south. Additional parking for guests is available on the street.

Our clients recognized the importance of aging in place— therefore, each home has an elevator that goes to every floor. This represented a significant design challenge, but it wasn’t something Crystal Creek wanted to compromise on so we were able to successfully address this throughout the design process.

The development permit has just been submitted. We couldn’t be prouder to be the design team behind these inclusively designed homes.

Click the link below to read more and follow our socials to keep updated on University Towns progress!

Zen Mahogany NetZero Towns & Care Facility DP Approved!

Our team is thrilled to announce the DP approval for the Zen Mahogany NetZero Residential & Care Facility!

Situated in Calgary's southeast community of Mahogany, this project an example of sustainable and family-oriented development. It features a mix of residential buildings, including several townhome typologies offering a total of 144 residential units with 1-3 bedroom configurations.

A key aspect of this development is its integrated Care Facility, which provides 24/7 support for individuals with diverse care needs. Our goal with this design is to help keep multi-generational families together and to help curb the loneliness epidemic. We ensured to foster a connection with the outdoors, as that is essential for mental health and well-being, especially for those with limited mobility. 

Responding to the client’s design brief, this building’s exterior imbues a sense of warmth with durable materials reflecting a wood-grain metal cladding, white board and batten, and black metal siding, accented with mass timber elements, maximizing the allowable glazing on each side to achieve airy, light-filled rooms. In addition to residential spaces, the development includes outdoor amenities like landscaped patios and covered porches with built-in seating.

We are driven by the challenge to continually address zoning, density, and accessibility issues and are excited with the progress achieved alongside Avalon Master Builders in taking steps towards creating more sustainable and inclusive living environments.

For more information on this project click here.

Advent's Killarney Multi DP Approval

The Development Permit for Advent’s Killarney Multi has just been approved!⁠

We are pleased to announce there is more housing coming to Calgary! Characterized by a facade with an alternating pattern of white aluminum and charred wood-toned cladding, this 78,000 ft², 6-storey building will contain 96 units along the 37th Street SW “Mainstreet” corridor, providing convenient access to transit and amenities. We are very grateful (and pleasantly surprised!) for the overall excitement and acceptance of this project from the community of Killarney into their established but evolving neighbourhood, as their support made the Development Approval process constructive and quick.

Offering 1, 2, and 3-bedroom configurations spanning 470 ft² to 1300 ft² layouts, units boast generous oversized balconies, underground parking, and rooftop amenity spaces that are contextually responsive to views and sun exposure. This design aims to enhance the quality of life for occupants and offers opportunities for social collisions and deeper engagement with neighbours in the fully landscaped, interior courtyard.

Since the DP submission, we’ve made some changes to the façade: The Killarney Multi’s exterior will now be complimented by a soft white corrugated metal siding, which will provide a deeper contrast to the wood and metal elements found elsewhere on the exterior design.

Find out more here.

OPUS's The Nines DP Approval

The Development Permit for OPUS's The Nines has just been approved!⁠

‘The Nines’ project is a mixed-use development Gravity designed for OPUS at the intersection of Elbow Drive and Southland Drive in Calgary’s Southwood community (just south of Haysboro). This six-storey project features 16,000 sqft of retail space facing the streets and 85 apartments above. We designed the retail space to be subdividable into three bays. The structure of the commercial ground level is concrete while the residential levels above are wood-framed. The primary cladding of this development is textured glass-fibre reinforced concrete panels set against the warmth of wood-toned metal siding. 

Find out more here.

Planning Mission Road

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Artist's Rendering of Mission Road from 2012 Consultant’s Report

In addition to the challenges presented by any site and budget, Gravity often has to respond to complex planning documents. Our Mission Road project has certainly been no exception.

In the summer of 2011, the City of Calgary began an ambitious planning project. The goal was to bring citizens, landowners, and City staff together with an international consulting team “to translate years worth of lessons learned into a plan for healthy growth along Mission Road.” It was also a way of seeing if workshops like this could be a better way of doing planning. On June 17 of that year, the City brought in well-known new urbanist planner Andués Duany of Duany Plater-Zyberk and Company (now DPZ) for a lecture at the Glenbow, and then a charette with the stakeholders for Mission Road. Some may recall that DPZ was the firm that had previously consulted with Carma on the first (and most successful) phases of MacKenzie Towne in southeast Calgary.

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Illustrative Plan from Parkhill Stanley Park ARP

The outcome of that process was initially a 78-page Final Consultant’s Report describing a human-scaled (and somewhat Italianate) urban future for Mission Road. While occasionally fantastical, the report described a plausible development pattern that reached across MacLeod Trail to integrate the nearby LRT corridor. Illustrations described narrower streets, mixed uses and more trees.

Ultimately, this work got its legal teeth as an amendment to the Parkhill Stanley Park Area Redevelopment Plan. Section 3.2 describes this Special Policy Area with form-based controls for building massing and frontage, outlines street improvements, and attempts to preserve the pedestrian-oriented streetscapes and scale that was envisioned at the charette.

In 2018, the owner of three long, steep parcels on the south side of Mission Road asked Gravity to prepare a feasibility study for a mixed-use project on the site. While we were not able to practically bring vehicles in from the back of the site (it being over three storeys above Mission Road), we were able to prove that a viable multi-residential building with a commercial frontage and a private courtyard was possible. Carlisle Group subsequently purchased the property, saw our feasibility study, and asked us to get to work! 

A selected diagram from Gravity’s 2018 Feasibility Study

Our assessment of the charade and resulting ARP was not that the community and City wanted historicist architecture or City Beautiful movement grand staircases over grottoes transformed into six-stool taverns. Rather, they wanted safe, attractive streets that are both walkable and wheelable. 

We therefore generated a contemporary building with a commercial street front behind a wide tree-lined sidewalk. Floating above this are three interrelated masses that contain the residential suites. Behind these, an internal courtyard meets the grade of the adjacent heavily treed parcel allowing users of the space to enjoy a backdrop of dense foliage. At the south end, an existing laneway provides access for loading as well as waste and recycling pickup. We have recently submitted a Development Permit application and are awaiting stakeholder comments and the Detailed Team Review.

With Mission Road, Gravity was able to incorporate the intent of the planning policy and deliver a viable building design to a prudent developer, which is what we strive to deliver to our clients whether they are in Alberta or BC.

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West Kelowna DP Submission

 

Gravity has recently completed the development permit drawings for a 20-unit project on 852 Anders Road in the Lakeview Heights neighbourhood of West Kelowna, BC. This is our first project with Kerr Properties and we’re very happy with how the collaboration has gone. Using a Mediterranean village as our inspiration, these townhouses have white-washed stucco walls and cantilvered wood balconies overlooking narrow streets and intimate gardens.

Lakeview Heights is a largely suburban area, with significant portions of land set aside for agricultural use (much of it vineyards). This development is well located in the community as it is adjacent to the community hall, complete with a basketball court, soccer pitch, and numerous tennis/pickleball courts. It’s also on a bus route, and across the street from a small commercial area including a convenience store and deli.

There are two unit types, one which is 1530 SF and the other which is 2088 SF. The smaller units have single garages and two bedrooms, and the larger have double garages and three bedrooms. All the units have two and a half baths, and laundry on the upper floor. Outdoor amenities are provided with both balconies and gardens.

Bridgeland Commercial DP Submission

We recently submitted a development permit application for a small commercial building in Bridgeland. The application number is DP2020-2409.

First Avenue NE has been Bridgeland’s main street for as long as anyone can remember. The street got a massive boost as a commercial and mixed-use area with the Bridges Masterplan in 1999 and the subsequent redevelopment of the south side of the street and former hospital lands. However, the main street hasn’t been fully built out, and there are a few non-commercial blocks between the main shopping area (between 7th Street and 9a Street) and the shops on Edmonton Trail to the west.

This development permit submission is for a five-bay commercial building which aims to be part of the connection between these two commercial streets. With a new wider sidewalk (matching the rest of the street to the east), there will be plenty of room for street trees, restaurant patios, bike racks, and of course pedestrians.

While each retail bay is small, most of them have additional space on a mezzanine level that extends out over the small parking area behind the building. Garbage, recycling and compost will be collected in modest semi-underground bins rather than dumpsters in the lane.

This development replaces a picturesque but awkward cluster of three aging houses, two of which do not have lane access. The new building features brick and steel cladding, bridging traditional styling with contemporary massing. 

If you are interested in commenting on the proposal, please visit the City of Calgary Development Map.

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