CALGARY — Calgary Municipal Land Corporation (CMLC) and Attainable Homes Calgary have officially broken ground on what promises to be one of the most significant affordable housing developments in the city’s history: a 230-unit townhome community on the former David D. Oughton elementary school site in Albert Park.
The groundbreaking ceremony on June 18, 2025, marks the culmination of years of planning for the 8.77-acre site at 28th Avenue and 24th Street SE, which has sat vacant since the asbestos-contaminated school was demolished in 2016. For the Albert Park and Radisson Heights community, the development represents a long-awaited answer to the question of what would become of the land where generations of children once attended school.
From Abandoned School to Attainable Homes
CMLC purchased the cleared site from the City of Calgary in 2018, two years after the demolition of the David D. Oughton elementary school. The school had served the community for over 50 years before the Calgary Board of Education declared it surplus in 2006. After sitting abandoned for a decade — plagued by vandalism and asbestos concerns — the building was torn down, leaving the community waiting for a vision for the land’s future.
That vision has now arrived in the form of 230 owner-occupied townhomes ranging from one to five bedrooms, priced between $170,000 and $330,000 — well below Calgary’s current market rates. The development is a partnership between CMLC and Attainable Homes Calgary, both City-owned entities, making this an entirely city-driven initiative with no private developer profit motive.
A New Model for Affordable Housing
“This project represents a fundamentally different approach to housing affordability,” said CMLC President and CEO Kate Thompson at the groundbreaking ceremony. “When the city controls the land and the development process, we can prioritize affordability over profit margins. That’s exactly what we’ve done here.”
Attainable Homes Calgary, which has helped over 1,800 Calgary families achieve homeownership since its founding in 2009, will manage the sales process and ensure that buyers meet income eligibility requirements. The shared-equity model means buyers purchase their homes at below-market prices and share any future appreciation with Attainable Homes when they sell, keeping the units affordable for future buyers as well.
“Homeownership changes lives,” said Attainable Homes CEO Joelle Faltyn. “These 230 families will build equity, put down roots, and invest in their community. That’s the multiplier effect of attainable housing.”
Community Amenities and Green Space
The development includes 1.2 hectares of public green space that will be accessible to the entire Albert Park/Radisson Heights community. Plans call for a dog park, basketball courts, a children’s playground, and landscaped walking paths. The green space design was informed by community consultation sessions held in 2023 and 2024, where residents identified outdoor recreation and gathering spaces as top priorities.
“We heard loud and clear from this community that they wanted green space and places for families to gather,” said CMLC’s director of planning and design, Amanda Renfrew. “The 1.2 hectares of public park space is a direct response to that feedback.”
Timeline and Development Progress
The project received its development permit in fall 2024 after a thorough review process that included environmental assessments to confirm the site was fully remediated following the asbestos abatement during the 2016 demolition. Construction is now underway, with foundation work expected to continue through the summer and fall of 2025.
The first families are expected to move into their new homes in spring 2026, with the full development completed by late 2026. CMLC reports that interest in the project has been overwhelming, with over 2,000 inquiries received since the development was announced.
Part of Calgary’s Housing Strategy
The David D. Oughton site development is a flagship project under Calgary’s “Home is Here” Housing Strategy, which aims to increase the supply of affordable and attainable housing across the city. The strategy, approved by city council in 2023, set ambitious targets for non-market housing construction and identified city-owned land as a key tool for achieving those goals.
The project also aligns with CMLC’s broader Transit-Oriented Communities (TOC) initiative, which focuses development around LRT stations and transit hubs. While the Albert Park site is not directly adjacent to an LRT station, it is well-served by Calgary Transit bus routes and is within cycling distance of the Franklin and Erlton/Stampede CTrain stations.
A Community Transformed
For longtime Albert Park residents, the development represents vindication after years of watching the school site sit empty. “We’ve been waiting for this for almost 20 years, if you count from when the school closed,” said community association president Diana Fung. “To see affordable housing going in — housing that will bring young families back to this neighbourhood — it’s exactly what we needed.”
The Albert Park/Radisson Heights area has historically been one of Calgary’s most diverse and affordable inner-city communities, but rising housing costs across the city have put pressure on even traditionally affordable neighbourhoods. The 230 attainable homes are expected to help stabilize the community and attract new residents.
“This site has a long history,” said Thompson. “It educated generations of children, and now it will house generations of families. That’s a legacy worth building.”
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