Varsity | ||||||||||||||
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Neighbourhood | ||||||||||||||
  Varsity Location of Varsity inCalgary | ||||||||||||||
| Coordinates:51°05′32″N114°08′51″W / 51.09222°N 114.14750°W /51.09222; -114.14750 | ||||||||||||||
| Country |  Canada | |||||||||||||
| Province |  Alberta | |||||||||||||
| City |  Calgary | |||||||||||||
| Quadrant | NW | |||||||||||||
| Ward | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Established | 1963 | |||||||||||||
| Government | ||||||||||||||
| • Mayor |
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| • Administrative body | Calgary City Council | |||||||||||||
| • Councillor |
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| Area | ||||||||||||||
• Total | 6.2 km2 (2.4 sq mi) | |||||||||||||
| Elevation | 1,110 m (3,640 ft) | |||||||||||||
| Population (2006)[2] | ||||||||||||||
• Total | 12,158 | |||||||||||||
| • Average Income | $58,603 | |||||||||||||
| Website | Varsity Community Association | |||||||||||||
Varsity is an established neighbourhood in the Northwest quadrant ofCalgary,Alberta. It was developed in the 1960s and early 1970s on a plateau to the north of theBow River valley, and is primarily composed ofSingle-detached dwellings on widelots. The neighbourhood comprises three major areas:Varsity Acres,Varsity Village, andVarsity Estates. Varsity is bounded on the north and east byCrowchild Trail, on the west by the Bow River, and on the south by 32nd Avenue NW. It borders the neighbourhoods ofSilver Springs andBowness on the west side, and bothMontgomery and theUniversity of Calgary campus on the south side. The easternmost portion of Varsity contains theUniversity of Calgary Research Park.
Varsity Acres is the oldest part of Varsity. It was developed in the 1960s with a street pattern of folded grids, rear lanes, and the occasional cul-de-sac. The original access from the east was via Varsity Drive where it intersected at Crowchild Trail at Brisebois Drive. This access was closed in the early 1970s in favour of a connection to 40th Avenue NW at the same intersection.
Varsity Village was developed byCarma Developers LP in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Unique in Calgary, the planning of Varsity Village was based on theRadburn Plan byClarence Stein andHenry Wright. The Radburn Plan adapted the ideas of theEnglish Garden City to the increasingly motorised American context, developing a street hierarchy that segregated through traffic from local traffic and automotive traffic from pedestrian traffic.[3] Like at Radburn, the developers of Varsity Village used as manyculs-de-sac as possible, and forwent rear lanes in favour of pedestrian pathways that connected to parks behind the houses (and not adjacent to streets). The developers' intent was to create a park-like setting for users of the rear walkways, and in many places in the neighbourhood where tall private fences have not been built, this intent has been maintained.
This pattern of development was also used in Calgary in the neighbourhood ofBraeside.
Market Mall, one of Calgary's major regional interior malls is located in Varsity Village, along with most of the neighbourhood's multi-family dwellings.
Varsity Estates is Varsity's most upscale area. It is almost entirely made up of single-detached dwellings without rear lanes, and much of it lies adjacent to theBowmont Natural Park or theSilver Springs Golf and Country Club.
Given that theC-Train has been extended to Varsity adjacent to Varsity Estates, the City has proposed atransit-oriented development in the area.[4]
In the City of Calgary's 2012 municipal census, Varsity had a population of12,200 living in5,547 dwellings, a 1.5% increase from its 2011 population of12,021.[5] With a land area of 6.8 km2 (2.6 sq mi), it had a population density of1,794/km2 (4,650/sq mi) in 2012.[6][5]
Residents in this community had amedian household income of$90,000 in 2020, and there were 12% low income residents living in the neighbourhood.[7] As of 2021, 28% of the residents wereimmigrants. A proportion of 39% of the buildings werecondominiums orapartments, and 38% of the housing was used forrenting.
| Year | Crime Rate (/100 pop.) |
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| 2018 | 2.6 |
| 2019 | 2.5 |
| 2020 | 2.3 |
| 2021 | 2.1 |
| 2022 | 3.4 |
| 2023 | 1.8 |
The community is served byF. E. Osborne Junior High School, Jerry Potts Elementary School, Marion Carson Elementary and Varsity Acres Bilingual Elementarypublic schools, as well a bySt. Vincent de Paul Elementary & Junior High (Catholic).
Members of theCalgary City Council | ||||||
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Places adjacent to Varsity, Calgary | |
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