Live in Belvedere
Approved in 2013, under construction since 2020, and built next to the East Hills retail centre on Calgary's far east edge.
Belvedere sits on land annexed by Calgary in 2007 and approved as a community by Council on 8 April 2013. The same year the East Hills Shopping Centre opened immediately to its west. Home construction did not begin until September 2020, and it is still under way: Tristar Communities is master developer, with eight builders listed on its site across single-family, townhome and condominium product, and over 13 acres of parks, trails, storm pond and open space. The City's boundary polygon covers 3.6 km². MAX Purple bus rapid transit runs to East Hills along 17 Avenue SE.
Approved in 2013, still being built today
Bounded west by 84 Street SE and the East Hills Shopping Centre, north by the neighbouring community of Huxley, and south by 17 Avenue SE. The City's boundary polygon covers 3.6 km². Ward 9.
The land under Belvedere was annexed by Calgary in 2007, and Council approved the community on 8 April 2013. The East Hills Shopping Centre was developed that same year, immediately to its west: the retail arrived years before a single house did.
Home construction did not start until September 2020, seven years after approval. Tristar Communities is master developer, and its site lists eight builders across single family, attached and detached, townhomes and condominiums, plus over 13 acres of parks, trails, storm pond and open space. It is still under way today.
Boundaries. 84 Street SE and East Hills form the western edge, the neighbouring community of Huxley the north, and 17 Avenue SE the south. The City's boundary polygon covers 3.6 km². Ward 9.
What we don't know yet. The City's 2021 federal census dataset carries no population row for Belvedere at all. The only municipal count is the 2019 civic census, which found 41 residents in 15 dwellings a year before construction began, and 2019 was the last year the civic census ran. Anyone quoting a current population for Belvedere is estimating.
- This is not a finished community. Expect ongoing building, unpaved lots and construction traffic for years yet
- No school operates inside Belvedere yet; the developer names a future CBE elementary school but publishes no opening date
- Neither school board publishes an attendance-area page this guide could open, so confirm designations by address before you buy
- East Hills, immediately west, is the one mature amenity already in place
- MAX Purple bus rapid transit runs to East Hills along 17 Avenue SE, and it is the only rapid transit here
- Downtown, the airport and the mountains are all a longer haul than from most of Calgary's southeast
How Belvedere got here
- 2007The land Belvedere sits on is annexed by the City of Calgary.
- 2013Council approves the community on 8 April. The East Hills Shopping Centre is developed the same year, immediately to its west.
- 2018MAX Purple bus rapid transit begins service on 19 November, running between City Centre and East Hills over the 17 Avenue SE transitway.
- 2019The last civic census counts 41 residents in 15 dwellings here, a year before construction starts.
- 2020Development of the community begins in September, seven years after approval.
- OngoingTristar Communities lists eight builders and over 13 acres of parks, trails, storm pond and open space, in what it calls one of Calgary's most significant wetland complexes. It also names a future CBE elementary school, with no opening date published.
A wetland at the centre, and civic parks beyond it
Belvedere's own open space is modest but real: the developer counts over 13 acres of parks, trails, storm pond and open space, and calls the wetland here one of Calgary's most significant wetland complexes. Beyond the community boundary, Elliston Park sits a few minutes away, and Prairie Winds Park is a genuine drive further northwest.
What the map does not show: there is no river valley or provincial park at this edge of the city: the wetland is the community's one distinctive natural feature, and it draws real birdlife. The honest counterweight, as with the rest of Calgary's far east, is Chestermere Lake, a short run north on Stoney Trail.
Elsewhere in Calgary, not Belvedere
19 places, with real drive times
Road-adjusted distance and drive time from the centre of the community to each destination, nearest first. Filter by category.
Showing 1–12 of 19 places, nearest first.
Method: distances and drive times are estimated from the centre of the community to each destination using Calgary's road grid, and are rounded to honest ranges rather than presented as precise figures. Several of these roads and interchanges are themselves still being finished, so treat the longer drive times as more likely to improve than to worsen over the next few years.
Every gym within reach
The nearest paid gyms are the chain clubs already open at East Hills; everything larger is a real drive into the established northeast, since Belvedere has not yet built a recreation centre of its own.
- Genesis Centre is the region's larger hub: gymnasiums, fitness centre, indoor courts and programming
- East Hills fitness clubs are two to four minutes away, the closest paid option to the community
- Belvedere's own pathways and wetland trails are the free option, and cost nothing to use today
- No community recreation centre has been announced for Belvedere itself
| Facility | What it is | Drive |
|---|---|---|
| East Hills fitness clubs open | Chain gyms in the East Hills retail district immediately west. The closest paid option to the community. | 2–4 min |
| Village Square Leisure Centre open | Wave pool, arena, fitness space, gymnasium and a library branch under one roof. | 10–15 min |
| Genesis Centre open | The northeast's anchor recreation facility: gymnasiums, fitness centre, indoor courts and community programming. | 13–19 min |
| Belvedere pathways & wetland trails open | Free option: the community's own trail network, storm pond and wetland complex. | 1–2 min |
| Chestermere Recreation Centre open | Arena and recreation facilities in Chestermere, north via Stoney Trail. Outside Calgary, so confirm non-resident rates. | 9–13 min |
Check Chestermere carefully. Its recreation centre is a genuine option north on Stoney Trail, but it is outside Calgary: non-resident rates and programme access differ, so confirm the terms before you plan around it.
No school inside the community, yet
No school operates inside Belvedere. The developer names a future CBE elementary school here without a date. The nearest Calgary Board of Education schools this guide could confirm are Forest Lawn High School and, in the neighbouring community, Abbeydale School.
| School | Board | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Future CBE elementary school | Calgary Board of Education | The developer's community site says Belvedere is home to a future CBE elementary school. No opening date has been published. |
| Forest Lawn High School | Calgary Board of Education | A Calgary Board of Education senior high offering Advanced Placement, an International Certificate, Career and Technology Studies and Fine Arts. Belvedere has no high school of its own. |
| Abbeydale School | Calgary Board of Education | A Calgary Board of Education school in the neighbouring community of Abbeydale, with kindergarten and alternative and language programmes. |
| Designations | Both boards | Neither board publishes an attendance-area page this guide could open, and the Calgary Catholic School District's site refuses automated requests. Confirm the designated elementary, junior and senior high for a specific address with each board before you buy. |
Neither board publishes an attendance-area page this guide could open, and the Calgary Catholic School District's site refuses automated requests altogether, so no designation is asserted here. Confirm both the current CBE and CCSD designations for a specific address directly with each board before you buy: designations for a community this new change often as enrolment fills in.
Month by month, what living here looks like
Not a highlights reel: the actual annual rhythm, including the dates residents have to remember.
- Chinooks reach this far-east edge later and weaker than the rest of the city
- Stoney Trail and 17 Avenue SE are priority snow routes, so access holds up
- Route 307 is the only transit link into downtown, and a storm adds real time to it
- Construction slows across the unbuilt phases, but does not stop
- Family Day long weekend brings crowds to the East Hills cinema
- Coldest snaps usually break with a chinook, arriving later here than most of the city
- Longer light by month's end
- Indoor recreation at Village Square and Genesis Centre at its busiest
- Melt and refreeze on the community's still-new streets
- Wetland and pond ice begins to break up
- First bare pavement on community pathways
- Spring building permits pick up across the unbuilt phases
- The wetland complex comes back to life. Early migratory waterfowl arrive
- Last hard frosts before planting
- Elliston Park reopens for the season across Stoney Trail
- Construction season restarts in earnest across the unbuilt phases
- Long evenings: sunset past 9pm by month's end
- New show homes and phases open for the building season
- Hail season begins: the east side gets more than its share
- The community's pathway and wetland trail network fills in
- Peak daylight at the solstice: over 16 hours
- School year ends for the students bused to Forest Lawn and the Abbeydale-area schools
- Thunderstorm season fully under way
- East Hills patios and the retail centre at their busiest
- Calgary Stampede: ten days, about 25 minutes west
- Hottest month, with little shade on streets this new
- Evening thunderstorms roll in from the west
- Chestermere Lake a short drive north for the afternoon
- The wetland is at its most active for birdwatching
- Chestermere at its warmest
- Quietest weeks before the school bus routes restart
- Harvest traffic builds on 17 Avenue SE east of the city
- School year restarts, with buses running to Forest Lawn, Dr. Gladys M. Egbert and Abbeydale School
- First frost typically arrives late in the month
- East Hills at its busiest with back-to-school shopping
- Prairie colour turns across the still-unbuilt land east of the community
- First snow is normal, and normally melts
- Snow tires go on
- The wetland freezes over by month's end in a cold year
- Building activity winds down for the season
- Dark by 5pm
- Indoor recreation season restarts at Village Square and Genesis Centre
- East Hills holiday retail season begins
- Route 307 becomes the more sheltered commute option as roads ice up
- Holiday lights at East Hills and along the community's new streets
- Chinooks, when they come, arrive late and weak on this edge of the city
- Quiet, short days between the holidays
- The wetland and ponds freeze solid for the winter
30 more photographs of Calgary and the region
Drawn from the site's shared, freely licensed Calgary photo library, not photographs of Belvedere itself. Filter by category.
Showing 1–12 of 30 photographs.
Honesty note. Belvedere is too new to have its own dedicated photo library, so this page uses only the general Calgary, seasonal, Alberta-wildlife and day-trip photography from the site's shared library: nothing here is presented as a photograph of Belvedere itself, and the Fish Creek and Midnapore-specific images used on other southeast pages are deliberately excluded, because they are not this community's surroundings.