Live in Garrison Woods
The former married-quarters half of CFB Calgary, rebuilt by Canada Lands Company after the base was decommissioned in 1998, with Marda Loop on its doorstep.
Garrison Woods sits on the Currie Permanent Married Quarters, the base family housing east of Crowchild Trail that Canada Lands Company redeveloped after CFB Calgary was decommissioned in 1998. The City's boundary polygon measures 0.77 km², and the 2021 census counted 2,860 residents in 1,265 private households, 19% of them renting against 31% across Calgary. Marda Loop's shops sit north along 33 Avenue, The Military Museums is on the western edge at 4520 Crowchild Trail SW, and Mount Royal University's Lincoln Park campus is a short drive southwest. The honest tension is generational: 51% of the occupied stock went up between 2001 and 2010, while 11% of it dates from 1960 or before, which is what is left of the base.
A base's married quarters, rebuilt after the base closed
East of Crowchild Trail SW, on CFB Calgary's former Currie married quarters. Ward 8, in the City's Centre sector. The City publishes the boundary as a polygon rather than a street list, and no publisher this audit opened gives a street-by-street description for Garrison Woods.
Garrison Woods sits east of Crowchild Trail on the Currie Permanent Married Quarters, the family housing of the former CFB Calgary. The 1996 federal budget announced the base would close, and in 1998 it was decommissioned. Canada Lands Company then redeveloped the married quarters: older houses razed, others upgraded and moved, and new houses, townhouses and condominiums built around them. Wikipedia records the awards the work won, from the Canadian Institute of Planners and the Canadian Home Builders' Association, but gives no year for either and no completion date, so this guide does not claim one.
Scale. At the 2021 census the community held 2,860 residents in 1,265 private households on a boundary polygon of 0.77 km². That is the largest population of the three former base communities, on the middle-sized piece of land: Currie Barracks counted 1,275 on 0.98 km² and Garrison Green 1,680 on 0.36 km². The Military Museums sits on the community's own western edge at 4520 Crowchild Trail SW, with galleries for the two regiments stationed at Currie Barracks from 1946 and for the navy and air force.
What it costs. Median household income was $146,000 in 2020, against $98,000 across Calgary, and 19% of households rent, against 31% citywide. Median monthly shelter costs run $1,430 for owners and $2,000 for renters, the one line where renting here is dearer than the city median rather than cheaper.
The stock is younger than the base history suggests. 51% of occupied dwellings date from 2001 to 2010 and 26% from the 1990s, so the first major maintenance cycle on most of it is arriving now. The 11% built in 1960 or before is what is left of the base, and it sits beside the newer infill at a genuinely different price point.
- Row houses and semi-detached homes are 45% of the occupied stock between them: check the party wall's sound separation and build quality specifically
- 51% of homes here were built between 2001 and 2010, old enough now for roofs, furnaces and hot water tanks to need attention
- Renters pay a median $2,000 a month, above the city's $1,430 for owners and $1,350 for renters. This is not a cheap place to rent
- Only 19% of households rent, so the rental supply is thin and turns over slowly
- The 11% of homes built in 1960 or before are the last of the base housing, smaller and plainer than the infill around them; inspect separately
How Garrison Woods got here
- 1946Currie Barracks becomes home to Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians) and the 1st Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry.
- 1957The Marda Loop Community Association registers on 6 September. It still covers Garrison Woods alongside Altadore, Riverpark, South Calgary and Marda Loop itself.
- 1990The Museum of the Regiments opens at 4520 Crowchild Trail SW on 30 June, dedicated by Queen Elizabeth II.
- 1996The federal budget announces that CFB Calgary will close in 1998, with most personnel moving to CFB Edmonton.
- 1998CFB Calgary is decommissioned. The Currie married quarters east of Crowchild Trail are redeveloped by Canada Lands Company as Garrison Woods: older houses razed, others upgraded and moved, and new houses, townhouses and condominiums built.
- 2006The Museum of the Regiments is renamed The Military Museums on 3 June as it takes in naval and air force collections.
- 2019The City's last civic census counts 3,115 residents in 1,427 dwellings, 1,361 of them occupied and 1,025 owner-occupied.
- 2021The federal census counts 2,860 residents in 1,265 private households, with a median household income of $146,000 in 2020 against $98,000 across Calgary.
The reservoir's pathway network, a short drive south
Garrison Woods has no large park of its own, and no publisher this audit opened names one inside the community. South Glenmore Park and the Weaselhead natural area sit a short drive south on the Glenmore Reservoir, alongside Heritage Park, 127 acres of living history village open since 1964.
What the map does not show: this is a walkable community built for shops and streets, not a park frontage. The reservoir is close, but it is a drive for most of Garrison Woods, not a backyard.
Elsewhere in Calgary, not Garrison Woods
14 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 14 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. Downtown is roughly six kilometres north via Crowchild Trail.
Every gym within reach
Mount Royal University's Lincoln Park campus and the studios along 33 Avenue in Marda Loop are what is within reach. Neither publishes a facility list this audit could open, so what follows is where to look rather than what you will find.
- The university's own recreation pages did not open for this audit. Confirm the facilities and whether non-students can join before counting on them
- The Marda Loop association hall at 3130 16 Street SW carries an outdoor pool, tennis courts, an outdoor rink and beach volleyball courts
- Commercial gyms sit near Rockyview General Hospital on 14 Street SW, south of the community
- The community's own sidewalks and the reservoir pathways are the free option
| Facility | What it is | Drive |
|---|---|---|
| Mount Royal University Recreation open | Campus recreation at the university's Lincoln Park campus. This audit could not open the university's recreation pages, so the facilities and non-student membership terms are unconfirmed. | 6–10 min |
| Marda Loop studios open | Independent studios along 33 Avenue in Marda Loop. No publisher this audit opened lists them, so treat the cluster as observation rather than a roster. | 3–5 min |
| Rockyview area clubs open | Commercial gyms near Rockyview General Hospital. | 2–4 min |
| Legacy Walk and community pathways open | Free option: the community's own sidewalks, and the Glenmore Reservoir pathways a short drive south. | 1–2 min |
Small and local beats big and central here. The association's own outdoor facilities on 16 Street SW are the one set anybody publishes.
One school this audit could place inside the community
The Lycée international de Calgary runs preschool to grade 12 on a dual French and English curriculum at 4099 Garrison Boulevard SW, and has operated since 1966. It used to be called Lycée Louis Pasteur, and its own site places itself in Altadore rather than Garrison Woods. No public or Catholic school could be placed inside the community by any publisher this audit opened.
| School | Board | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Lycée international de Calgary | Independent | Bilingual French and English, preschool to grade 12, at 4099 Garrison Boulevard SW. Operating since 1966 and accredited by Alberta Education, the French Ministry of National Education and CAIS. Its own site places it in Altadore. |
| Public schools | Calgary Board of Education | This audit could not place a Calgary Board of Education school inside Garrison Woods. The board site this guide previously named, King Edward School, does not resolve. Ask the board for the designated schools at a specific address. |
| Designated schools | Calgary Catholic School District | No source this audit opened names a Catholic school in Garrison Woods, and the district's own site refuses automated clients. Confirm the designation for a specific address with the district. |
| Mount Royal University | Post-secondary | The university's campus is in Lincoln Park, southwest of the community. It moved there in 1972 and enrolled 11,560 full-time-equivalent students in 2023-24. |
Alberta funds Catholic education the same way it funds public education, so there is no tuition for a resident student at either board. The Lycée is independent and charges fees. The Calgary Catholic School District's site refuses automated clients, and the Calgary Board of Education page this guide once named, King Edward School, does not resolve. Ask both boards for the designated schools at a specific address before you buy.
Month by month, what living here looks like
Not a highlights reel: the actual annual rhythm, including the dates residents have to remember.
- The Military Museums' outdoor displays sit under snow from the first fall to the last chinook
- Garrison Boulevard's sidewalks get shovelled by residents long before any city crew reaches an inner-city side street
- The 11% of homes here built in 1960 or before are the last of the base housing, and they heat nothing like the 2001 to 2010 stock next door
- Marda Loop's 33 Avenue stays quiet until the first chinook breaks
- A chinook can clear 33 Avenue's sidewalks of snow in an afternoon
- The Lycée international de Calgary on Garrison Boulevard runs preschool to grade 12 straight through the cold months
- The Military Museums' parking lot is easiest to find a spot in all winter
- Marda Loop's cafés fill with skiers stopping on the way home from the mountains
- Meltwater off Crowchild Trail's grade collects on the community's western edge before it drains
- Cleats are the right footwear on the shaded stretches of the Glenmore Reservoir pathways
- Optimist Athletic Park's diamonds on 26 Avenue SW turn to mud weeks before anyone plays on them
- South-facing front gardens on the old base blocks are the first in the community turned over for spring
- Marda Loop's patios open ahead of most of the rest of the city
- Boulevard trees on the older base blocks leaf out ahead of the plantings on the 2001 to 2010 streets
- The Lycée's youngest classes move outdoor programming back onto the Garrison Boulevard grounds
- The Military Museums' visitor parking fills again as the school-trip season restarts
- A quarter-century on, the redevelopment's street trees are tall enough to shade the sidewalks
- Field sports move outdoors at Optimist Athletic Park and the Marda Loop association grounds on 16 Street SW
- Marda Loop's sidewalk patios fill on the first warm evenings
- Front steps on the old base blocks fill up for the long evening light
- School lets out at the Lycée and at Mount Royal University within the same stretch of weeks
- The Military Museums' summer camps start filling its parking lot
- Thunderstorms roll in off the foothills, visible over the Legacy Walk
- Marda Loop's patios run full most weekday evenings
- Stampede parade traffic backs up on Crowchild Trail along the western edge
- The mature boulevard canopy is the reason the old base blocks stay bearable through a heat spell
- Marda Loop's summer festival season closes 33 Avenue to traffic
- The Military Museums draws its heaviest tourist season of the year
- The mountains are a straight run west on Glenmore Trail past Bragg Creek
- Rockyview General Hospital's 14 Street approach is at its quietest before the school run returns
- Marda Loop's back-to-school shopping fills the 33 Avenue sidewalks
- Garrison Boulevard gets its last quiet week before September traffic returns
- The Lycée restarts and Mount Royal University's term begins, and Crowchild Trail thickens in both directions
- Frost usually reaches the low ground near the reservoir before it reaches the community
- Rockyview's evening parking spills onto the surrounding streets once daylight shortens
- Aspen on the Weaselhead trails turn first, ahead of anything in the community
- Peak colour runs through the 400 retained mature trees along the older blocks
- First snow usually melts within days rather than sticking
- Marda Loop's patios close for the season
- The Military Museums' outdoor displays go into winter storage
- Dark by 5pm along Garrison Boulevard means porch lights come on early
- The Marda Loop association hall at 3130 16 Street SW fills as programmes move indoors
- The association's outdoor rink on 16 Street SW freezes hard enough to be worth the walk
- Marda Loop's holiday retail season starts along 33 Avenue
- A chinook arch over Crowchild Trail can flip the temperature 25 degrees in an afternoon
- The Military Museums' outdoor pieces frost over on the coldest mornings
- Marda Loop's holiday lights make 33 Avenue genuinely walkable after dark
- Quiet streets between the holidays, with windows lit early on the short days
2 more photographs of the community and its surroundings
All freely licensed, via Wikimedia Commons. Filter by category.
Showing 1–2 of 2 photographs.
About these photographs. Openly licensed images geotagged in or near Garrison Woods, found on Wikimedia Commons and served from there with full attribution. Inline photos elsewhere on the page may still come from the site's shared Calgary library.