Development plans throughout Calgary often have interesting histories, but one of the most interesting and comprehensive development stories can be traced back
Some of the most established streets in southwest Calgary used to be a military base. The closure of CFB Calgary in the 1990s handed the city a rare gift — a huge tract of inner-city land, minutes from downtown — and the redevelopment that followed produced Garrison Woods, Currie, and a reimagined Lincoln Park. It's one of the best case studies anywhere of how infill redevelopment creates livable space, and it still shapes what buyers find in these communities today.
How a Federal Budget Redrew a Neighbourhood
The story starts with the 1996 federal budget, which called for closing CFB Calgary along with other bases across the country as part of a consolidation into fewer facilities. The base was officially decommissioned in 1998, with most personnel relocating to CFB Edmonton. Rather than letting prime inner-city land sit idle, the decision opened the door to one of Calgary's most ambitious redevelopment projects.
Planning came before bulldozers. A Transportation Impact Assessment was conducted to understand how thousands of new residents would change transit use, vehicle traffic, and pedestrian and cycling patterns — the kind of groundwork that separates successful infill from gridlocked infill.
From Married Quarters to Garrison Woods
The Canada Lands Company transformed the base's family housing area — the Currie PMQs, or private married quarters — into the community of Garrison Woods. The approach was surgical rather than scorched-earth: less marketable houses were razed, better ones were upgraded, and new single-family homes, townhomes, and condo complexes were built among them. The result won national recognition, including the Grand SAM Award from the Canadian Home Builders' Association and the Honour Award for Planning Excellence from the Canadian Institute of Planners. Walk Garrison Woods today and you can feel why: tree-lined streets, varied housing, and a walkable, established character that brand-new suburbs spend decades trying to grow.
Lincoln Park and the Land West of Crowchild
While Garrison Woods took shape, the lands west of Crowchild Trail — formerly a parade ground, military facilities, and single-person quarters — were redeveloped as part of the Lincoln Park neighbourhood. Redevelopment here mixed residential with adaptive reuse: warehouses and hangars became movie studios, theatrical rehearsal space, and offices. Over the years the former base lands have hosted the touring company of Cirque du Soleil and the Calgary Farmers' Market (temporarily housed in an airplane hangar), and became home to Wild Rose Brewery, Clear Water Academy, and The Military Museums. A grocery anchor and other commercial buildings rose on the northwest corner of the old PMQ lands, giving the new communities everyday amenities from the start.
Currie: The Redevelopment Continues
The transformation of the former base didn't stop with Garrison Woods. The remaining barracks lands continue to evolve as Currie, a master-planned inner-city community that layers modern townhomes, condos, and single-family homes around preserved heritage buildings and parade grounds. For buyers, Currie offers something genuinely uncommon: new construction with an inner-city address, in a neighbourhood whose military history is written into its street names and architecture.
What Infill Redevelopment Means for Buyers
The CFB Calgary story illustrates why redevelopment communities deserve a close look. They deliver location without the compromises of older housing stock — newer homes, modern layouts, and planned parks within minutes of downtown. They tend to be thoughtfully designed, because master planning happens all at once rather than lot by lot. And they come with mature surroundings: established schools, shopping, and transit already in place next door. The trade-offs are worth understanding too — construction can continue for years in the later phases, architectural controls shape what you can build or modify, and price points reflect the inner-city land beneath them. Comparing these communities side by side in our community guides is a good starting point.
Living in Calgary's Military-Heritage Communities
Nearly three decades on, the closure of CFB Calgary reads as a turning point rather than a loss: land that once housed soldiers now houses thousands of Calgarians in some of the city's most walkable, character-rich neighbourhoods. If that blend of history, location, and modern housing appeals to you, browse current listings in Garrison Woods, Lincoln Park, and Currie — or dig into market statistics to see how these inner-city communities are performing. Few places let you buy a new home on a street with a hundred years of stories underneath it.
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