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We need your help to save Calgary's Chinatown.
The problem:
The City of Calgary has approved the upzoning of a surface level parking lot in Chinatown. This building would dwarf the surrounding residential buildings that are home to many low-income residents over the age of 65. This development would increase traffic on 2nd avenue and jeopardize the walkability of the community. This is a safety issue for the community and its many residences that have accessibility issues.
This proposed development will directly impact the safety of seniors who have lived here for decades, not to mention the walkability for the hundreds of seniors who travel from all quadrants of the city every day to attend classes, get meals, meet with friends, and access medical services.
Over the past three years, the Chinatown community has participated in the engagement sessions, open houses, signed petitions, rallied, wrote letters to our councillors, held meetings, and spoke at the public hearings. The applicant dismissed our concerns and City Council voted for this approval despite our pleas.
Although it has been a long journey, we as a community will keep fighting to preserve the safety for Chinatown residents as far as the democratic process will allow.
What can happen if we don't do anything:
Chinatowns across North America are at risk of disappearing. Read this article on the vanishing Vancouver Chinatown and what volunteers are doing to preserve it.
What your funds will be used for:
Although we have many highly skilled volunteers working on this appeal, we have reached the point in the process where we require professional legal services. Money raised will be used to pay legal fees associated with the costs to appeal the approved development at the Subdivision Appeal Board and any technical architects, engineer, transportation and social sector consultants to fully describe the implications of this development and associated risks.
We will not spend beyond the proceeds raised and any proceeds raised in-excess of this initiative will be expended on activities to enhance your Chinatown visit experience. Please donate.
More info about the proposed development:
The developer plans to build two (2) 27-storey ‘luxury’ condominium towers plus a 12-storey, 150-room hotel in the heart of Chinatown surrounded by four (4) seniors and low-income apartment towers housing over 1,000 residents and many with restricted mobility capacity. This development will also see an underground parkade of 450+ cars that will enter and directly exit onto 2nd SW Avenue in front senior citizen residences. The hotel will take away all on-street paid parking for taxis and big tour buses and leaving now space for the senior’s families and friends to park when visiting. There would be no place for ambulances or fire trucks to stop except the middle of the road. We can avoid these hazards now but only through an appeal of the Development Permit.
The problem:
The City of Calgary has approved the upzoning of a surface level parking lot in Chinatown. This building would dwarf the surrounding residential buildings that are home to many low-income residents over the age of 65. This development would increase traffic on 2nd avenue and jeopardize the walkability of the community. This is a safety issue for the community and its many residences that have accessibility issues.
This proposed development will directly impact the safety of seniors who have lived here for decades, not to mention the walkability for the hundreds of seniors who travel from all quadrants of the city every day to attend classes, get meals, meet with friends, and access medical services.
Over the past three years, the Chinatown community has participated in the engagement sessions, open houses, signed petitions, rallied, wrote letters to our councillors, held meetings, and spoke at the public hearings. The applicant dismissed our concerns and City Council voted for this approval despite our pleas.
Although it has been a long journey, we as a community will keep fighting to preserve the safety for Chinatown residents as far as the democratic process will allow.
What can happen if we don't do anything:
Chinatowns across North America are at risk of disappearing. Read this article on the vanishing Vancouver Chinatown and what volunteers are doing to preserve it.
What your funds will be used for:
Although we have many highly skilled volunteers working on this appeal, we have reached the point in the process where we require professional legal services. Money raised will be used to pay legal fees associated with the costs to appeal the approved development at the Subdivision Appeal Board and any technical architects, engineer, transportation and social sector consultants to fully describe the implications of this development and associated risks.
We will not spend beyond the proceeds raised and any proceeds raised in-excess of this initiative will be expended on activities to enhance your Chinatown visit experience. Please donate.
More info about the proposed development:
The developer plans to build two (2) 27-storey ‘luxury’ condominium towers plus a 12-storey, 150-room hotel in the heart of Chinatown surrounded by four (4) seniors and low-income apartment towers housing over 1,000 residents and many with restricted mobility capacity. This development will also see an underground parkade of 450+ cars that will enter and directly exit onto 2nd SW Avenue in front senior citizen residences. The hotel will take away all on-street paid parking for taxis and big tour buses and leaving now space for the senior’s families and friends to park when visiting. There would be no place for ambulances or fire trucks to stop except the middle of the road. We can avoid these hazards now but only through an appeal of the Development Permit.