Story | Posted Jun, 17, 2021
$2.5-B Alpine Park breaks ground, creating more than 20,000 jobs
Dream breaks ground on a SW Calgary community founded on new urbanist principles.
Community showcases "new urbanism" with design input from movement's 'father'.
CALGARY, AB, July 30, 2020 /CNW/ - The visionaries behind some of Canada's most vibrant and transformative mixed-use communities, including Toronto's popular Distillery District, broke ground today on what will be another signature property in Dream Unlimited's (TSX: DRM) asset portfolio. The projected $2.5-billion Alpine Park, more than two decades in the making, has moved forward on the heels of the province's recent announcement awarding the final construction contract for completion of the last leg of Calgary's Ring Road. The Southwest Calgary Ring Road is the pivotal access needed for the project, as it borders approximately two kilometres of Dream's frontage lands that will define the city's new west. The project is a brand-new 646-acre, next-generation greenfield development that will be on the forefront of the new urbanism movement in Calgary. It is expected to create 1,700 direct and indirect jobs per year, for a total of more than 20,000 new jobs over the 15-year lifespan of the project. Upon completion, the community will be home to more than 10,000 residents, and will create 4,000 ongoing jobs throughout the commercial, retail, industrial and institutional areas integrated within the neighbourhood, according to company projections. "We started assembling this development in 1997 and today, 23 years later, we are proud to commence development of this exceptional project," said Michael Cooper, Chief Responsible Officer of Dream Unlimited. "Alpine Park is among some of our most prestigious mixed-use communities, along with The Distillery District and Canary District in Toronto and Zibi in Ottawa. We strive to build communities that help make peoples' lives better." The neighbourhood will be unlike anything the city has so far seen from its suburbs – which have historically been known for their car-dominant designs rather than being built for pedestrians. Nearly all future residents within the first 476-acre community will live within an eight-minute walk along wide, tree-lined boulevards to the Village Centre. Garages have all been designed to be accessed from the side or back alleys, making way for the return of old-fashioned front porches that allow people to connect with each other and nature. "With the upcoming opening of the Calgary Ring Road, Alpine Park is well located and easily accessible to the whole city," said Tara Steell, general manager of Dream's Calgary Land division. "We have spent many years designing the best community we can, and Dream is thrilled to continue its long history of investing and building in Calgary." The vision for Alpine Park was shaped in collaboration with none other than Peter Calthorpe's HDR/Calthorpe, widely considered one of the founding fathers of the new urbanism movement. His work includes major projects in the United States and abroad, but Alpine Park will be the first master planned community he's been involved with in Canada to break ground. Civitas is another partner, who is known to Calgarians for its work on St. Patrick's Island. Both firms are leading thinkers in master planning and landscape architecture. Dream also announced Alpine Park's founding builder partner group, which was awarded following an extensive selection process. The builders in the group are: Calbridge Homes, Cardel Homes, Genesis Builders, and Homes by Dream. About Dream: Dream is one of Canada's leading real estate companies with approximately $9 billion of assets under management in North America and Europe. Across the Dream platform there are approximately 12,300 units for development and over 9,100 acres of development land in Western Canada. The scope of the business includes residential land development, housing and condominium development, retail and commercial development, asset management for three TSX-listed trusts and commercial property ownership. Dream has an established track record for being innovative and for its ability to source, structure and execute on compelling investment opportunities. Dream has also developed some of Calgary's more popular communities, including Richmond Hill, EvansRidge and Wentworth. For further information: or to request an interview, please contact: Paula Arab, Media Relations Strategist, C: 403.889.9128, Anstice Communications, parab@anstice.ca