Pop Up Places Program to Perk up Vacant Lots

Some neglected lots around the city could be getting a bit of a facelift thanks to a little reorganization at The City of Calgary.

Vacant land or underutilized spaces in Calgary have the potential to be transformed into vibrant places – which the City is dubbing "Pop up Places" – that add to community vitality such as parks, plazas, markets and art exhibits. The Victoria Park business revitalization zone (BRZ) was the first to propose a pop up park concept, recently obtaining approval for a park to be developed on a vacant 1 St. SW lot adjacent to Haultain Park.

"Launching this pop up park is very exciting because pop ups are a great way for the business community to activate vacant lots," said David Low, executive director of the Victoria Park BRZ. "In partnership with the Victoria Park business community, we are working on a number of other great concepts for other locations. For this summer, we're hoping to activate a few more locations."

Through existing rules and processes, Pop up Places have the potential to be approved within several weeks provided well organized, complete applications authorized by the property owner are submitted along with letters of support from local community and business associations. The first step is to schedule a pre-application meeting with City staff, who are there to help applicants understand what is needed in order to successfully navigate the process.

For application inquiries, search "Pop up Places" on www.calgary.ca or visit www.victoriapark.org/content/victoria-park-molson-redleaf-project for information about the Victoria Park project.

Tagged: Calgary Community | City of Calgary | Community Event