What is the deal with this house?

[MrMastodonFarm]

I like the ranch in the Nw.
https://www.google.ca/maps/@51.12839...2!8i6656?hl=en
Is that just one of those refuse to sell situations?

What about the massive house on Cresent Rd on top of the Hill coming up 10th steet?
It's the only house on that ride of the road. Lonely and huge.
https://www.google.ca/maps/@51.06016...2!8i6656?hl=en

[Swift]

Not quite as unusual as some of the houses here, as it's more recent, but this house is the original farm property on 24th St in Bridlewood - https://goo.gl/maps/5tUZnffqxdJ2

You can see it in Google Earth pre-Bridlewood using the historical tool. (Also, unrelated, but still pretty cool, you can see across the road that the woods behind the RBC are the original plantation, before the neighbourhood. Unusual to see trees not being razed)

[darockwilder]

Originally Posted by Stealth22

There's this house too, just off the ramp going from WB 16th Ave to NB Stoney, west of COP: https://www.google.ca/maps/@51.08767...2!8i6656?hl=en

Always wondered what it was doing there.

Yes! I used to drive by that every day and wonder what the deal was. I especially like the big old TV antenna on the roof, as if he lived in a land that time forgot and watched Sports at 11 on 2&7 every night before bed.

[JiriHrdina]

I'm loving this thread.

I have often wondered about a building downtown on the corner of 6th Avenue and 10th Street SW. I lived near there (Garden Towers by Crack Mac's) and used to walk by it all the time. It housed, at one point, the Sunset Billiards on the main floor and a video store in the basement. The upper flower puzzled me - you couldn't access them as a steel gate blocked entrance - and the windows were teeny tiny.

I happened to walk by there and investigated a little more - not finding out much. However, looking online I found some history:

http://archive.avenuecalgary.com/art...res?page=0%2C7

I don't know what is housed in the upper floors today. The mystery remains.

[T@T]

Originally Posted by Kavvy

The map here shoes it not to be the house?

http://www.ymcacalgary.org/camps/camp-riveredge/#Map

Indeed.

https://www.google.ca/maps/@51.00768...7i13312!8i6656

[You Need a Thneed]

89th Ave up in Saddleridge is an old acreage road that is unimproved, and the acreages are now surrounded by developement. A couple of big houses along that road.

https://www.google.ca/maps/@51.13365.../data=!3m1!1e3

Not quite "surrounded" yet, but will be soon - 84th Ave and 88th Ave in the Saddleridge Area:

https://www.google.ca/maps/@51.12823.../data=!3m1!1e3

Old acreage house in Pineridge - There used to be another one on the land that is now multifamily seniors across the street.

Streetview

[shermanator]

Originally Posted by You Need a Thneed

Old acreage house in Pineridge - There used to be another one on the land that is now multifamily seniors across the street.

Streetview

I remember that place. Used to have lots of hills for dirt biking.

[calgarygeologist]

Originally Posted by shermanator

I remember that place. Used to have lots of hills for dirt biking.

I grew up in Pineridge and did a lot of biking at the "dirt hills" behind the Husky. I had lots of fun out there and quite a few injuries. That main jump was pretty big when I think back to it. We would get quite a bit of air.

[Magnum PEI]

There was a thread on SSP a while ago about anomalous houses. Can't find it now, but someone had posted this handy link on the City's website where you can creep every property in the city.

http://www.calgary.ca/_layouts/cocis...lgarymap.aspx?

[mikephoen]

There are 5 or so houses inside of Edworthy Park. I'd love to know more about them. They must be crazy valuable. Imagine the listing: Acreage for sale, close to downtown!

[calumniate]

Looking for stuff on my own place I found this
http://culture.alberta.ca/heritage-a...driving-tours/
Thought it would be listed in the cliff bungalow one, but it is not. My boiler is from 1870 lol, and the place itself is 1910 I believe. Cool documents in there nonetheless

[CaptainYooh]

Originally Posted by mikephoen

There are 5 or so houses inside of Edworthy Park. I'd love to know more about them. They must be crazy valuable. Imagine the listing: Acreage for sale, close to downtown!

You'd be surprised by the lack of interest. One of those houses was for sale for almost 15 years since 1994. It belonged to an old Chinese doctor, who lived there with his wife. A beautiful old walkout house on almost 40 acres of a treed hillside waterfront land overlooking the entire City. Only $4M. No takers. It was sold finally to a Calgary restaurateur who wanted to build a high-end restaurant on it but that didn't happen too for some reason.

[PostandIn]

Originally Posted by Magnum PEI

There was a thread on SSP a while ago about anomalous houses. Can't find it now, but someone had posted this handy link on the City's website where you can creep every property in the city.

http://www.calgary.ca/_layouts/cocis...lgarymap.aspx?

If I could pick a property to own (a house lot that is) in Calgary it would be 44 Eaglecrest Place. The view would be stunning looking west from the top of that hill over heritage park onto the foothills and Rockies.

[Oil Stain]

https://goo.gl/maps/8sSi4j5wXF52

I get a kick out of this acreage in Edmonton. Completely surrounded by suburbs. Intact farmhouse and out buildings. 8-10 foot wall around the sides and back of the property. The majority in summer fallow.

Half a block from a 7-11.

Edit: I don't think my link is working. Its 17020-112 street.

[CampbellsTransgressions]

http://calgaryherald.com/news/local-...een-demolished

My favourite is 631 4th Avenue SW (scroll down). Patrick Brown is a brilliant person.

[Kavvy]

So, I have another weird location to ask the brain trust of CalgaryPuck...

And I feel bad, as I feel like my curiosity may spoiler a good thing people have going, but my curiosity is killing me. I am assuming this community is fairly old and the answer is simply a legacy rule which has been passed down over the years, which would make sense to me.

What is going on with the Homes in Bel-Air which seem to have a private park on top of the bank overlooking the river valley which the public can't access due to a fence which doesn't seem to belong.

https://www.google.ca/maps/@50.99957.../data=!3m1!1e3

This site codes the land as S-UN

http://www.calgary.ca/PDA/pd/Pages/P...2007-maps.aspx

Which according this site is "Special Purpose – Urban Nature".

http://www.calgary.ca/PDA/pd/Pages/C...Districts.aspx

The homeowners have seemed to built to the edge of their property limit. Does this mean that these home owners get the privilege of having one of the most amazing parks next to their home, which they can only access, and not have to pay tax on said land? I understand private sanctuary exist like this (i.e. the Bonavista private lake which has land use of S-R not S-UN), so I was wondering, is there an official land use agreement in the city bylaws which explain this situation? It's weird as unlike Bonavista this would have public access if a fence didn't exist on what I think is public land.

I was looking at this as these homes were my dream homes since they were one of the few semi-inner city locations in the city that had a private viewing of the river and the mountains (if you think about how many non-flood-able river views have public parks in front of the homes - i.e. a portion of Britannia, Altadore, etc).

The Land Use Bylaw had this to say:

Spoiler!

PART 9: SPECIAL PURPOSE DISTRICTS
Division 2: Special Purpose – Urban Nature (S-UN) District
Purpose
1021 (1) The Special Purpose – Urban Nature District is intended to:

(a) be applied to lands that have either been set aside for the purpose of preserving existing characteristics of a natural plant or animal community or which are undergoing naturalization;

(b) provide for natural landforms, vegetation, and wetlands; and

(c) limit development to improvements that facilitate passive recreational use.

(2) The Special Purpose - Urban Nature District should be applied to land dedicated as environmental reserve pursuant to the Municipal Government Act or its predecessors.

Permitted Uses
1022 The following uses are permitted uses in the Special Purpose – Urban Nature District:

(a) Natural Area;

(b) Park Maintenance Facility – Small;

(c) Sign – Class A;

(d) Sign – Class B; and

(e) Sign – Class D.

Back to Top
Discretionary Uses
1023 The following uses are discretionary uses in the Special Purpose – Urban Nature District:

(a) Food Kiosk;

(b) Museum;

(b.1) Power Generation Facility – Small;

(c) Sign – Class C;

(d) Utilities;

(e) Wind Energy Conversion System – Type 1; and

(f) Wind Energy Conversion System – Type 2.

68P2008, 38P2013
Rules
1024 In addition to the rules in this District, all uses in this District must comply with:

(a) the General Rules for Special Purpose Land Use Districts referenced in Part 9, Division 1;

(b) the Rules Governing All Districts referenced in Part 3; and

(c) the applicable Uses And Use Rules referenced in Part 4.

[JiriHrdina]

^Fascinating. No idea in terms of answering your questions but I would love to know more.
I actually drove past the original property that started this thread a couple weeks ago. Considered walking down the drive through - but chickened out.

[Regulator75]

Originally Posted by T@T

Indeed.

https://www.google.ca/maps/@51.00768...7i13312!8i6656

Very cool, I attended that camp back when I was a kid.

Good times.