“The big key was that we had to come up with a plan that integrated into an existing community,” says Colleen Roberts, Bridges project manager with the City of Calgary. “The key concepts were community integration, a pedestrian friendly design and revitalization of 1st Ave.”

The project was named The Bridges, and ground was broken on Phase One (of three) in 2001. Since then, Phase One is complete and plans are now underway for Phase Two.
The views on Centre Avenue, between 9A Street and 7A Street N.E., are now quite different than they were eight years ago. Where before there were parking lots to the north and the demolished hospital site to the south, there are now tree-lined sidewalks that pass by separate front entranceways, often displaying flowers and other greenery, with newly developed Murdoch Park to the south. Looking up, you see buildings that have been stepped back as they reach the sky, to avoid the “cavernous” feeling of many high-density areas.

Along 1st Avenue, one block to the north, the street is lined with shops and cafes, harkening back to the days before the shops along this avenue were knocked down to create parking space for the hospital. A number of businesses also occupy the ground floors of live-work residences.
The streetscape was an integral part of the planning for this new community-within-a-community. To blend the new area with the existing character homes and tree-lined streets of old Bridgeland, the community planners incorporated narrower streets (built on a grid system), wide boulevards and sidewalks with trees and landscaping and townhomes at street level so that each building features entranceways along the street.

Completion of Phase One saw the introduction of The Piazza by Townscape Properties Ltd., an apartment-style condo building designed in a northern art-deco version of Miami’s South Beach look; Olive by Homes by Avi, featuring three-storey townhomes, some of which are live-work units, plus retail space; Bella Citta and Bella Lusso by Bucci Developments Ltd., two urban, modern, apartment-style condo buildings; Acqua and Vento by Windmill Developments Ltd., environmentally-friendly buildings which include townhouses and retail space; and Pontefino I and II by Sandlewood Developments Ltd., with townhomes and apartment-style condos.
Community space has been incorporated in Murdoch Park and the new, sustainably designed Bridgeland-Riverside Community Centre located at the east side of the park.

Already, pedestrian traffic has increased in the neighbourhood and businesses are experiencing revitalization, says Sharon McKendrick, president of the Bridgeland/Riverside community association.

Phase Two will feature four more residential buildings plus some retail, by developers Sandlewood Developments
Ltd., Assured Developments and Apex  City Homes.

Sandlewood Developments will be building the eight-storey Serena, based on the design of Phase One’s Pontefino, on the east side of the to-be-developed McPherson Square (between 8th and 9th Streets and McDougall and McPherson Roads). Togna Mouwen, senior sales representative with Sandlewood and Bridges resident, reports that residents of Pontefino I and II are “thrilled with the amenities” in the neighbourhood and confirms that the plan to make the development pedestrian-friendly has been successful.

“You can always see people out walking their dogs or drinking their Starbucks,” she says.

The eight-storey Akoya (or “pearl” in Japanese) will be built by Assured Developments on the west side of McPherson Square. This “very contemporary,” concrete building is architecturally designed to give the impression of a pearl and will include two-storey townhomes with street-side entrances, apartment-style condos and sky lofts.
“We really believe that the architecture and interior design of the building will provide a new alternative for Calgarians that is different from anything they’ve ever seen,” says Chris Wein, vice-president of sales with Assured.

Apex City Homes is building on the two eastern-most sites of Phase Two, which sit between 9th Street and existing McDougall Park. The site closest to Memorial Drive will be developed first, with The Crossings, the 10-storey, apartment-style condo building with two-storey townhomes on the main level and terraced homes on the top floors set to become the ambassador of the Bridges to travellers entering downtown Calgary on westbound Memorial Drive.

“The Crossings is a warm, approachable building, building on the fundamentals of the community,” says Alex Ferguson, project manager with Apex.

Sales of some Phase Two condos are expected to start late this fall, others in early 2008.