Bridgeland – Early boomtown settlement

• The area now known as Bridgeland/Riverside dates back to the early 1900’s when it represented the first structured community in the northeast. The lands were annexed to the City of Calgary in 1905 and the Community Association was formed within the next year.
• The district gained particular significance as an ethnically diverse neighbourhood, becoming a first point of settlement for many immigrants, especially Italians and Germans
• Pre-WW I boom in Calgary provided the milieu for the controversial ‘red-light district’ which sprung up next to Bridgeland

Bridgeland – The home of Calgary’s oldest hospital

• Since 1910, there has been a permanent hospital associated with the Bow Valley Centre site
• The building complex demolished earlier this year had been in existence for over 40 years (post-WW II development)
• The absence of the hospital has ushered in a new chapter in the evolution of the entire surrounding community
   
• Bridgeland as a part of the declining inner city
  • Since 1960, the area has experienced long periods of slow growth or no growth at all, in both population levels and physical development/land use terms
  • Ageing population profile has been a dominant characteristic for the community in the 1970’s, 80’s and 90’s
  • Local business growth remains limited as a result of the 1982 decision to expropriate the once developed land on the south side of the 1^st Avenue NE and build parking lots for the hospital. Prior to 1982, there had been commercial, retail and residential development on both sides of the avenue.
• Context
• On the morning of October 4, 1998, the ‘Old General’, Bow Valley Centre General Hospital was imploded, leaving a 30 acre hole in the heart of the community. With the loss of the hospital it is incumbent on the city to provide a redevelopment scheme that meets both community goals and citywide goals. This report is an effort to give a general background and explanation of a possibility for the site.