Strategic PlanImpact Report
Measuring the making of a better Calgary.
Measuring the making of a better Calgary.
We respectfully acknowledge that our work in the Rivers District is located at the confluence of the Bow and Elbow Rivers in a place called Moh’kinstsis, a Blackfoot word that means elbow. It is in the spirit of truth, respect and reciprocity that we honour and acknowledge Moh’kinstsis, and recognize the traditional territories and oral practices of the Blackfoot Confederacy, including the Siksika, Piikani and the Kainai Nations; the Îyâxe Nakoda, including the Chiniki, Bearspaw and Goodstoney Nations; and the Tsuut’ina Nation. The City of Calgary is also home to the Métis Nation of Alberta, Districts 5 and 6.
This document shares the framework we created for our 2020-2024 Strategic Plan, along with data that charts our progress in living up to those aspirations and the impact it has in our communities. We’ve included photos, tables and short videos that bring ideas and numbers to life, quotes that sum up subjects, and a variety of other ways to absorb the content.
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2024 marks the final year of CMLC’s 5-year Strategic Plan, which we conceived in the latter part of 2019. Five years. A half-decade. It’s gone by in a heartbeat, yet it’s transformed our organization and changed our city.
We wrote the plan because CMLC was at a critical juncture as an organization. We were conceived in 2007 to efficiently and effectively kick-start Calgary’s urban renewal by revitalizing the Rivers District, 504 under-loved acres around the city’s birthplace at the confluence of the Bow and Elbow rivers.
Since then, we’ve greatly evolved as a team and as an organization: Bringing the Rivers District to life has made us true master planners. It’s given us both a high-level and a long-term vision of what goes into great neighbourhoods, and helped us understand their power and potential. It also made us incredibly detail-oriented: we’ve grown our capabilities in order to deliver at the highest level, envisioned particular spaces, led strategic project delivery, attracted investment, tackled difficult planning projects, engaged frequently and significantly with residents, and much more.
Most importantly, in 2020, we were embarking on the delivery of work on a scale we’d never undertaken before. Our numbers were doubling. CMLC was moving from a largest project value of $245M to more than $650M in project delivery. In 2020, we were a team of 21; today, we’re 38 people —engineers, urban planners, programmers, architects, developers, accountants, communicators and marketers —who now steward and support more than $1.2B in city-building projects.
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We were in the initial stages of the delivery of the 
BMO Centre expansion, a $500M and more than 500,000 SF development designed to make Calgary competitive on the national and international conference stage. It was also twice as big as our pride and joy, the 
Central Library, a $245M/235,000 SF project.
While the BMO Centre expansion was the biggest of our new assignments, it was one of several major projects in the Rivers District Master Plan (RDMP) that were bringing the new Culture + Entertainment District (The C+E) to life. These included the 17th Avenue SE Extension and Victoria Park/Stampede Station rebuild, critical infrastructure designed to seamlessly connect The C+E with the rest of the city.
We knew that these somewhat less glamorous but absolutely essential projects would make Stampede Park truly accessible—an integral part of downtown for the first time, and amplify Stampede Park to a destination year-round.
We were also engaging in the Event Centre, which has since evolved away from CMLC. But a rush of new opportunities replaced it.
Starting in 2022, we were engaged in the transformation of both Arts Commons and Olympic Plaza. The transformation word is apt; these two projects are the largest cultural infrastructure projects currently underway in all of Canada.
They are also literally game-changing, life-enhancing, world-view-shifting projects for Calgarians that bring our city’s cultural infrastructure roaring into the 21st century and position it solidly at the head of the pack.
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So how could we understand the progress we had made in the past five years, and lay the groundwork for the years to come? How could we measure it?
We anchored the strategic plan with four overarching pillars designed to measure the effectiveness of both long-term vision and detailed execution.
This report details our progress and our challenges. In 2020, as now, we are community builders who imagine the possibilities and seize the opportunities to transform Calgary and the ways people experience it.
And as we measure and consider community impact over the past five years, we couldn’t be more focused, more engaged, more determined…or more proud.
And we’re just getting started.
Measures the effectiveness of our organization and our scope of work in the city.
Details the importance of collaboration in successfully delivering multi-partner projects.
Examines how CMLC can excel at delivering great projects for Calgary.
IDEAS—Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, Sustainability—is at the heart of everything we do at CMLC. It helps us deliver responsibly on our mission and vision, nurtures connections between communities, and keeps our organization relevant. IDEAS are critical to making us better employers and placemakers.
Our commitments to inclusion, diversity, equity, accessibility and sustainability (IDEAS) enable CMLC to deliver responsibly on our mission and vision while nurturing engagement and belonging, building deeper connections across our communities, empowering innovation, and enabling the long-term sustainability, relevance and resilience of our organization and our city.
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We commit to deepening our understanding of the vast diversity of human experiences, backgrounds, abilities and viewpoints. We endeavor to ensure that every perspective is valued and respected in our workplace, our redevelopment efforts and the communities we work and live in. We will remain open and give equal voice to all people, groups and viewpoints to ensure our organization’s work reflects and respects the evolving social landscape while upholding our dedication to the betterment of our city.
And we will incorporate, wherever possible, high standards for sustainability—carrying out our mandate with due consideration for the long-term environmental, social and economic well-being of our fellow citizens and our planet.
Established internal working groups for DE&I, Sustainability and Accessibility.
Established regular Lunch & Learns in support of internal IDEAS learning.
Completed an inclusive work environment assessment.
Integrated DE&I considerations into procurement practice.
engaged with to activate and program events in our spaces
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pride banners installed in East Village
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New trees planted on St. Patrick’s Island in support of tree succession plan and increasing tree canopy
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12 level three and 12 level two electric vehicle chargers installed in partnership with Tesla at Pixel Park to promote low emission transportation in the district. 25,000 charges = Total number of level three charges in first year open.
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BioBlitz our 24-hour, ecological treasure hunt on St. Patrick’s Island, revealed a 68% increase in plant and animal species since CMLC revitalized the Island a decade ago
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New developments that tie in to District Energy
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kilos of construction waste were diverted from landfills or used in other projects
Indoor water use reduction will achieve significant savings of 35% above the LEED v4 baseline standards
1 dedicated service animal relief area
Dual flush toilets throughout will decrease overall water usage by 30%
Underground cisterns manage stormwater on site
2 universal washrooms with barrier free stalls and adult change tables
Signage that includes braille
As we look forward to the next five years, we’re crafting a plan that continues to drive Rivers District growth, 
fuelling its transformation into a complete, established community by advancing the master plan visions for East 
Village and The Culture + Entertainment 
District
As we continue to build community within the Rivers District, we are also looking beyond its boundaries. We will aim to apply our experience and expertise to new communities—driving social impact and economic value, supporting the city’s goals for urban densification and housing, and capturing opportunities to deliver innovative community development in other parts of the city.
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We are aligning our expertise with opportunities in order to drive value to our Shareholder and build a better Calgary for all. And we’ll continue to aim for best-in-city excellence and national recognition by delivering outstanding projects and places, and by taking on big, tough challenges suited to CMLC’s capabilities.
We’ll work to ensure that our unique community-building approach continues to earn the trust of our partners and all Calgarians. And we’ll plan to keep transforming the faces and the places of the city together.
We know we’re a young organization in a young city with big, blue-sky energy.
We know that everything is possible.
And that we’re just getting started.
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