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CBC
5 days ago
- Business
- CBC
Banff housing project to add 90 affordable units
Banff's latest affordable housing project is taking shape. An open house on Tuesday gave residents a look at the upcoming 90-unit project at 50 Wolf St., near the Bow River and Banff Mineral Springs Hospital. It's expected to be completed in late 2027. Banff Mayor Corrie DiManno said once the project is finished, it will provide much-needed below-market housing for residents. "This housing development is the difference between people leaving our community and staying in our community," she said. "It's really exciting that this opens up more opportunities to stay in Banff and build a life here." Of the 90 units, there will be 32 studio rental units, 43 one-bedroom rental units and 15 two-bedroom units available to purchase through the Banff Housing Corporation. There will also be 8,000 square feet of community space on the ground floor, including a kitchen, dining hall, lounge space and meeting space. The cost will be $41 million, with $3.3 million coming from the federal government's Housing Accelerator Fund, $6.4 million from the provincial government and $5 million from the Wim and Nancy Pauw Foundation, totalling $14.7 million. The remainder will be debt financed and cost-recovered. DiManno noted the location is close to downtown and public transit, which is free in the townsite for residents. "We're meeting two of our biggest needs in this project: one is housing and two is community space," she said. "I'm so excited for it to come to life and for Banffites to be able to enjoy it." The Banff Housing Corporation has a waitlist of about 400 for units to own, while there are about 320 people on the rental waitlist. It has 260 ownership units and 133 rental units in its portfolio. Policy changes spur residential projects The projected housing shortfall in Banff is 700 to 1,000 residential units and the vacancy rate is below one per cent. Banff has a federally legislated land cap of about four square kilometres. It means new housing comes from redevelopment of existing space. Council approved a series of land use changes last year, such as removing parking restrictions, increasing allowable density in neighbourhoods and reducing permitting fees. Alison Gerrits, the Town of Banff's director of community services, said there is still a shortfall of housing, but council-approved policy changes last year have spurred development applications. "We recognize our shortfall is still significant and we need to rely on other projects that will be happening in the community," she said. Darren Enns, the town's director of planning and environment, told council at its Monday meeting that applications for new housing units "remain strong" at an estimate of more than 300. "Almost all of these applications are using one or multiple of the changes council made to the land use bylaw," he said. "In other words, these 300 units that are in the pipeline would not have come if it weren't for changes."
Vancouver Sun
05-08-2025
- Vancouver Sun
Banff sign to move to safer spot for tourist selfies in fall
BANFF — A popular selfie spot for visitors to Banff National Park is being moved to what town officials say is a safer site. The two-metre-high, $350,000 sign that simply reads 'Banff' was installed in 2017 on Mount Norquay Avenue, one of two entrances into the Alberta mountain park's idyllic townsite. But the narrow two-lane road, which runs from the Mount Norquay Ski Resort seven kilometres away, is fraught with traffic jams, even between the peak tourist seasons of winter and summer. The new location — in front of the historic Banff train station, with Mount Norquay in the background — was unveiled at a ceremony Tuesday. Plan your next getaway with Travel Time, featuring travel deals, destinations and gear. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Travel Time will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. It's about 600 metres from the original site and next to a free parking lot. The sign is to be moved there, likely overnight, in October. 'The Banff sign is more popular than we could have ever imagined, and there's definitely some safety concerns around folks pulling over to get photos and make memories,' said Mayor Corrie DiManno. 'At times, you kind of feel like a Pac-Man game came to life, and council wanted to move (it) to a safer location.' Banff gets about four million visitors a year, and Mount Norquay Avenue sees 55 to 60 per cent of the traffic. In the summer, there are about 17,000 vehicles a day on the avenue, with many pedestrians crossing the road to get to the sign from a nearby parking lot. The sign, which was temporarily removed for three days in June during the G7 leaders' summit in Kananaskis, is still busy. Dozens of people lined up Tuesday to snap photos in front of the giant place name. The $1.2 million cost to move the sign and reinstall it is being paid for by Adam and Jan Waterous, owners of the Mt. Norquay Ski Resort and leaseholders of the Banff Railway Lands. 'What's really been important to us and our family is to reinvigorate the railway lands and restore them to their place as the gateway to Banff,' said Jan Waterous. 'We've been working hard to getting a passenger rail train from Calgary to Banff. We hope that will be for another announcement soon. But in the meantime, we're doing what we can to really create a gathering place in this part of Banff.' The Alberta government is studying possibilities for a passenger rail system. Waterous said her family is one of the groups lobbying for Calgary to Banff service. 'Our view is part of getting here is the journey and seeing the mountains. We expect that the next step in the fall will be the province deciding whether to proceed with one or both of these routes,' she said. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 5, 2025.
CTV News
05-08-2025
- CTV News
‘Not sustainable': Banff seeing more traffic amid Canada Strong Pass
Officials with The Town of Banff say the mountain community is experiencing an increase in visitation thanks to the Canada Strong Pass, which gives visitors the chance to access national parks for free. 'By the end of July, we are up six per cent vehicle volumes year to date,' said Mayor Corrie DiManno. 'We are definitely seeing an uptick in vehicle volumes.' The Canada Strong Pass, announced by Prime Minister Mark Carney in the spring, effectively makes access to national parks and historic sites free until Sept. 2. DiManno says free entry into Banff National Park has created some issues. 'We cannot handle that volume of vehicles into the long term,' she said. 'We need to continue to work with our provincial and federal partners to look at mass transit – whether it's bus or rail, now and later. We know that it is simply not sustainable.'
Edmonton Journal
05-08-2025
- Edmonton Journal
Banff sign to move to safer spot for tourist selfies in fall
Article content BANFF — A popular selfie spot for visitors to Banff National Park is being moved to what town officials say is a safer site. Article content The two-metre-high, $350,000 sign that simply reads 'Banff' was installed in 2017 on Mount Norquay Avenue, one of two entrances into the Alberta mountain park's idyllic townsite. Article content Article content But the narrow two-lane road, which runs from the Mount Norquay Ski Resort seven kilometres away, is fraught with traffic jams, even between the peak tourist seasons of winter and summer. Article content Article content The new location — in front of the historic Banff train station, with Mount Norquay in the background — was unveiled at a ceremony Tuesday. Article content Article content It's about 600 metres from the original site and next to a free parking lot. The sign is to be moved there, likely overnight, in October. Article content 'The Banff sign is more popular than we could have ever imagined, and there's definitely some safety concerns around folks pulling over to get photos and make memories,' said Mayor Corrie DiManno. 'At times, you kind of feel like a Pac-Man game came to life, and council wanted to move (it) to a safer location.' Article content Banff gets about four million visitors a year, and Mount Norquay Avenue sees 55 to 60 per cent of the traffic. In the summer, there are about 17,000 vehicles a day on the avenue, with many pedestrians crossing the road to get to the sign from a nearby parking lot. Article content The sign, which was temporarily removed for three days in June during the G7 leaders' summit in Kananaskis, is still busy. Dozens of people lined up Tuesday to snap photos in front of the giant place name. Article content Article content The $1.2 million cost to move the sign and reinstall it is being paid for by Adam and Jan Waterous, owners of the Mt. Norquay Ski Resort and leaseholders of the Banff Railway Lands. Article content 'What's really been important to us and our family is to reinvigorate the railway lands and restore them to their place as the gateway to Banff,' said Jan Waterous. Article content 'We've been working hard to getting a passenger rail train from Calgary to Banff. We hope that will be for another announcement soon. But in the meantime, we're doing what we can to really create a gathering place in this part of Banff.' Article content The Alberta government is studying possibilities for a passenger rail system. Waterous said her family is one of the groups lobbying for Calgary to Banff service.
Winnipeg Free Press
05-08-2025
- Winnipeg Free Press
Banff sign to move to safer spot for tourist selfies in fall
BANFF – A popular selfie spot for visitors to Banff National Park is being moved to what town officials say is a safer site. The two-metre-high, $350,000 sign that simply reads 'Banff' was installed in 2017 on Mount Norquay Avenue, one of two entrances into the Alberta mountain park's idyllic townsite. But the narrow two-lane road, which runs from the Mount Norquay Ski Resort seven kilometres away, is fraught with traffic jams, even between the peak tourist seasons of winter and summer. The new location — in front of the historic Banff train station, with Mount Norquay in the background — was unveiled at a ceremony Tuesday. It's about 600 metres from the original site and next to a free parking lot. The sign is to be moved there, likely overnight, in October. 'The Banff sign is more popular than we could have ever imagined, and there's definitely some safety concerns around folks pulling over to get photos and make memories,' said Mayor Corrie DiManno. 'At times, you kind of feel like a Pac-Man game came to life, and council wanted to move (it) to a safer location.' Banff gets about four million visitors a year, and Mount Norquay Avenue sees 55 to 60 per cent of the traffic. In the summer, there are about 17,000 vehicles a day on the avenue, with many pedestrians crossing the road to get to the sign from a nearby parking lot. The sign, which was temporarily removed for three days in June during the G7 leaders' summit in Kananaskis, is still busy. Dozens of people lined up Tuesday to snap photos in front of the giant place name. The $1.2 million cost to move the sign and reinstall it is being paid for by Adam and Jan Waterous, owners of the Mt. Norquay Ski Resort and leaseholders of the Banff Railway Lands. Wednesdays What's next in arts, life and pop culture. 'What's really been important to us and our family is to reinvigorate the railway lands and restore them to their place as the gateway to Banff,' said Jan Waterous. 'We've been working hard to getting a passenger rail train from Calgary to Banff. We hope that will be for another announcement soon. But in the meantime, we're doing what we can to really create a gathering place in this part of Banff.' The Alberta government is studying possibilities for a passenger rail system. Waterous said her family is one of the groups lobbying for Calgary to Banff service. 'Our view is part of getting here is the journey and seeing the mountains. We expect that the next step in the fall will be the province deciding whether to proceed with one or both of these routes,' she said. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 5, 2025.
