Achi news desk-
In the northwest Calgary community of Bowness, single-family homes are giving way to multi-family apartments and townhouses.
Dee Allen lives on Bowwood Road, where rezoning and construction can be seen from blocks away in both directions.
Allen has witnessed the changes from her front porch, seeing houses being demolished across from her on Bowwood Drive to make way for new developments.
“It’s like losing a good friend,” said Allen about losing the original charm of her community.
The redevelopment has sparked mixed reactions among Bowness residents.
Some, like Jesse Murphy, who lives in a new terraced house, welcome the change, as it provides much needed housing.
“These large, multi-family units, as soon as it’s done, they’re full,” Murphy said.
“I don’t know where all these people lived before, but … this is necessary.”
Others like Allen fear losing the community’s identity.
“This is not progress. It’s going backwards,” Allen said.
“This is going backwards. We’re going to lose our community, and it’s so precious.”
Alkarim Devani, co-founder of Calgary-based Round Square, the developer behind some of the new construction, encourages locals to embrace the evolution.
“The things that make our communities vibrant, which are the communities we all want to live in, is that change,” Devani said.
“It comes with the coffee shop, it comes with the facilities, it comes with the investment and the ability to walk.”
Jim Angevine, another resident, sees the redevelopment as inevitable.
“It’s a sign of the times. Always, things change. It’s one thing in life you can count on,” Angevine said.
“I think, in the long run, it will work. Things usually work out in the long run. That’s what I always find.”
As Bowness continues to evolve, the debate over the pace and scale of rezoning reflects the broader challenges Calgary faces in balancing growth with community preservation.
Public hearings on a plan to allow so-called “general rezoning” will continue at city council throughout the week.
