On June 30, 2016, Calgary Housing Company became the new owner of East Village Place (750 - Fifth St. S.E.). East Village Place refers to both the 163 apartments and the approximate 23,000 square feet of community space on the first two floors. The intent of the Calgary Housing Company and The City of Calgary is to develop the first two floors for community use.

Community space is somewhere everyone feels welcome and all can participate. It could be a place where you meet to share a cup of coffee, tell stories or listen to music. It might have programs such as dance classes or painting. There might be games, or food, or a fitness area. Mainly it’s somewhere for people to be together, enjoy each other and be “community.”

We know how important the Golden Age Club was to many of the residents in the East Village and how challenging the last year has been since its closure. Although this space will most likely not be another senior’s club, we encourage everyone to think of how this space could be used by community members from across the neighbourhood.

The ideas you have shared over the summer will be put together with your neighbours’ ideas and The City will assess whether any themes emerge. These themes will then be used to create a Request for Proposals (RFP). A Request for Proposals which is a process where Calgary Housing Company invites interested organizations to outline how they would like to use the space to meet the community’s needs. Your input, along with other criteria (e.g. financial feasibility) becomes the basis for evaluating these proposals.

No. Organizations will have to produce a plan to cover economic rent that covers operating costs and a lifecycle reserve. Ideally, Calgary Housing Company would like one main tenant on the lease who would be responsible for sub-leasing spaces to additional organizations.

Beginning in the fall (2016), renovations to fix up the space will begin on the first two floors. After the RFP process we will be able to more clearly define what the next steps will be.