When Ryan Boley and his wife were picking an inner-city neighbourhood to move into four years ago, they could easily scratch a few off the list.

Bankview wouldn’t work. Nor would Sunalta, even with the west LRT then under construction.

Bridgeland? Nope.

“We looked around Bridgeland. Quickly ruled that out because there wasn’t really a grocery store anywhere near that,” said Boley.

The software developer, now 34, chose a tower in Victoria Park. He’ll take the car out on weekends to a larger market and stock up on staples, but several times a week he’ll take the six-minute stroll to Sunterra, to pick up a quick fresh dinner or that missing ingredient.

It used to be enough for condo developers in Calgary to tout the funky cafe down the block, with its stellar Cafe Americanos and fresh scones.

More and more, the ticket is to boast a nearby place where homeowners can get their bag of coffee beans, a multi-grain sourdough loaf and a roast chicken for tonight’s dinner, as well as ample leftovers for tomorrow’s lunch.

The Safeways and Co-ops in the city’s centre are no longer enough, either — not for the thousands of new downtown, Beltline and area residents that will be added in coming years.

Developers have proposed six new supermarkets in the core, from Erlton and East Village to a pair of grocery stores in long-underserved Eau Claire. If all of them went ahead — city officials are skeptical — it would double the number of inner-city supermarkets within a decade or so.

“In an ideal world, everyone can go to the butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker right by your house,” said Evan Woolley, councillor for the Beltline and west downtown.

“ ‘Green grocer,’ they all say. I’m really looking forward to having more of them, but it’s a cautious optimism, until they’re open. It’s how they’re selling stuff.”

He recalls the six-storey Treo condos in Marda Loop and the Sobeys signed up to go in there. To neighbours’ disappointment, they got a Shoppers Drug Mart instead.

Mouse over the locations below to see existing and proposed grocery stores in Calgary's inner city.







Some downtown supermarkets appear more likely to go ahead than others. Near 17th Avenue and 8th Street S.W., there’s already a sign on the sidewalk promising the Beltline’s next supermarket: already announced by the developer as Urban Fare, a B.C.-based brand that specializes in fresh, organic and gourmet.

Sobeys intends to open in a major condo development across Macleod Trail from Erlton-Stampede Station, while the first major retail project in budding East Village has 100,000 square feet — more than double the size of Midtown Co-op — earmarked for Loblaws, the company behind Superstore and Joe Fresh.

Another came up for approval at Calgary Planning Commission last week: a two-storey, 60,000-square-foot grocer within a three-tower residential development on a former car dealership lot at downtown’s west edge.

The project’s consulting architect wouldn’t divulge which supermarket chains were in talks for the site, but said the appeal was clear.

“This one’s very close to the LRT. It’s very close to all the units that are in that end of town,” said Bruce McKenzie of NORR Architects. “He (the developer) has been in discussion with several urban grocers.”

The downtown area, Beltline and Mission districts have gained about 4,850 residents in the past four years, according to the city census. According to all the cranes, construction activity and development permit applications, thousands more are on their way.