Calgary continued to see robust activity in the building and development sector in the third quarter of 2023. Residential construction values continued to increase year-over-year compared to 2022. Much of this value was driven by an increase in multi-residential buildings and secondary suites with an increase of 30 per cent and 80 per cent, respectively.

“Providing Calgarians with housing options is very important. On Sept. 16, Council approved Home is Here: The City of Calgary’s Housing Strategy, to address the housing crisis. The upward trend in values for multi-residential building and secondary suite construction demonstrates the demand for different housing options,” says Ulrik Seward, Manager of Business and Building Safety Approvals with Development, Building and Business Services. “We will continue to work with the development industry to enable them to provide more affordable homes for everyone.”

From July to September of 2023, Calgary builders and developers submitted 1,565 single/semi-detached residential, 281 multi-family residential and 543 commercial building permit applications. Proposals to redesignate land increased by 80 per cent over the same period last year, with 119 applications submitted. Also, 128 applications to subdivide land were submitted, an increase of 45 per cent during that time.

In new communities, applications for secondary suites are up by 114 per cent over the same period last year, with 762 building permits applied for. In established communities 351 secondary suite building permit applications were received, an increase of 33 per cent compared to Q3 2022.

“The growth in applications for secondary suites across Calgary are for both new builds and existing homes. This has helped us reach over 11,000 safe, registered secondary suites,” says Seward. “This will help us continue to increase the number of available safe and affordable housing options for renters and owners.”

The largest increase in applications for multi-residential building permit applications was seen in the townhouse and rowhouse categories. There has been a year-over-year increase of 35 per cent for townhouse applications and a 58 per cent increase in rowhouse applications.

The City of Calgary received an overall 5,219 residential building permit applications (which includes, single/semi-detached, multi-family residential, residential improvements and renovation projects) from July to September of 2023, and 1,027 non-residential building permit applications. Year over year, building permit applications were 25 per cent higher than last year. During that same period construction values increased by 4 per cent from $1.41B to $1.46B.

“The increase in building permit applications is a testament to our commitment to partnering with the development industry to build a great City,” says Seward. “Over the past several years we have been continuously improving our processes and offering new ways to make it easier for development to take place in Calgary.”

During the third quarter of 2023, the top 10 construction projects listed below were completed. These projects demonstrate a $797.6M investment in making Calgary a great place to live and make a living.

1.       YYC4 Project Maverick, a 2.6 million square foot Amazon warehouse in East Shepard Industrial, valued at $400M.

2.       Arris Towers, a 42 storey, multi-residential building providing 500 units in East Village, valued at $131.1M.

3.       North Calgary High School in Coventry Hills, valued at $52.6M.

4.       Vivo For Healthier Generations Expansion in Country Hills Village, valued at $42.2M.

5.       Shawnessy Station, a six storey multi-residential building located in Shawnessy, valued at $38.9M.

6.       Alt Hotel at University District is a 15-storey hotel with 155 units in University District, valued at $33.2M.

7.       Saddletowne Circle Multi-Family is a four-storey building with 175 units located in Saddle Ridge, valued at $30.6M.

8.       Northland Residential Village – South Building and Parkade, which is six-storeys with 113 units, is in Brentwood and valued at $27.1M.

9.       West District – Block 3 is a five-storey residential building with 78 units in West Springs, valued at $17.9M.

10.   Nolan Hill Apartments Phase Two Building Four, which is four-storeys with 86 units in Nolan Hill and valued at $16M.