Redevelopment of Calgary’s Former Grace Hospital Site: What’s Planned, Who’s There Now, and What Happens Next
If you have driven past the northeast corner of 14 Street NW and 8 Avenue NW, across from Riley Park and just minutes from Kensington, you already know the site: the former Grace Hospital, a long-standing institutional landmark that has quietly functioned for years as a medical office and community health hub. The property is often referred to as Riley Park Village / Riley Park Health Centre, and it is now moving into a new chapter—one that will bring substantial residential density, new retail activity, and a phased redevelopment approach that will reshape this gateway into Calgary’s inner northwest. (Connect CRE Canada)
Below is a practical, plain-language overview of the redevelopment story: what the site is today, who the current tenants are (at a high level), what has been proposed and approved in planning terms, and what the emerging timeline suggests.
1) The Site Today: A Healthcare Campus That Never Really “Closed”
While the Grace Hospital as an acute-care hospital closed in 1996, the building and broader site have continued to operate as a health-oriented campus for decades. Recent planning documents and real estate marketing materials consistently describe the main building as a medical office / community healthcare hub, supported by significant surface parking and a campus-like setting next to Riley Park. (Connect CRE Canada)
A 2024 commercial report on the site notes that the building continues to function as a community healthcare hub with multiple specialist tenants and provides holding income while redevelopment planning progresses. (renx.ca)
Key point: this is not a “vacant brownfield.” It is an active medical services location that will likely transition in stages, with existing operations maintained until demolition and construction sequencing requires tenant relocation.
2) Who Are the Current Tenants?
Because medical-office tenancies can change over time (and because many clinics don’t market themselves as part of a single “mall-style directory”), the most accurate way to describe the tenant mix is by service type, supported by a few confirmed examples from public sources.
A) Primary care, specialty clinics, and surgical/clinical uses
A leasing brochure for Riley Park Health Centre (the former Grace Hospital) describes “a number of medical tenants,” specifically including:
Foothills PCN (Foothills Primary Care Network)
Surgical uses
A state-of-the-art spine care clinic
This aligns with the way the building has been positioned for years: a multi-tenant medical centre with a mix of outpatient services rather than a single institutional operator.
B) Alberta Health Services programs operating on-site
Alberta Health Services lists Riley Park Village (1402 8 Avenue NW) as a facility location and shows AHS programs delivered there (for example, physiotherapy service listings appear on the facility page). (Alberta Health Services)
C) Private allied-health and clinic tenancies (examples)
Public clinic listings also show private operators using the address, such as Caleo Health at “200, 1402 8 Avenue NW.” (Caleo Health)
D) Hospice / continuing care history on the broader site
City planning engagement materials from the Grace Hospital land use redesignation process reference the broader campus, including Sunset Lodge and Agape Hospice, as part of the lands being considered for redesignation alongside the Grace Hospital building.
Important nuance: The tenant list is best treated as a “living roster.” The reliable takeaway is that the site currently supports a mix of medical office and community health services, and many leases are structured to accommodate redevelopment timing (more on that below). (renx.ca)
3) The Long-Running Redevelopment Concept: Mixed Use + Housing + Healthcare Continuity
This site has been in planning conversations for years. A City of Calgary engagement document from Summer 2017 describes an application to redesignate the lands to enable a mixed-use health care campus and multi-residential development. That 2017 framework contemplated:
13,395 m² of medical offices plus 743 m² of supporting retail
Up to 800 dwelling units, proposed to be affordable and seniors’ housing
Height concepts ranging from 30 m near the west edge to up to 70 m in other areas
Even if the final built form changes, that document is useful because it shows the underlying intent: this is meant to be a high-amenity, high-activity campus, not a single standalone tower.
4) What Changed Recently: Sale, New Ownership, and a Shift Toward Getting Shovels in the Ground
A) A major transaction closed the loop
In early 2025, industry reporting confirmed that Sumus Property Group (Lethbridge-based investor) and Bankside Properties (Calgary-based developer) acquired the former Grace Hospital site for $38.1 million. (Connect CRE Canada)
This matters because once land changes hands into a developer-led partnership, sites typically move from “conceptual planning” into sequenced permitting, tenant transition planning, and phase design.
B) Redevelopment vision: a multi-building residential community
Reporting in 2024 described plans calling for a seven-building, multi-residential community, expected to include a mix of condos and rentals, with building forms in the mid-rise range and potentially up to about 15 storeys in concept. (Connect CRE Canada)
Subsequent reporting following the 2025 sale suggests that the plan may evolve from earlier concepts, but remains oriented to primarily residential, with community-focused retail at grade as part of Phase 1 thinking. (renx.ca)
5) Tenant Transition: How Redevelopment Usually Happens on Active Medical Sites
One of the biggest questions for neighbours—and for anyone who relies on the clinics there—is: How do you redevelop a working healthcare building without pulling the plug overnight?
A 2024 report on the sale process explains that most tenants have leases with demolition clauses, noting six-month demolition clauses as a mechanism to allow the owner to vacate the building when redevelopment is ready to proceed. (renx.ca)
In practical terms, that often means:
Pre-development period (now): clinics continue operating; the owner/developer advances planning, traffic studies, design, and permitting.
Notice period (later): demolition clauses are activated; tenants are supported in finding alternative locations.
Demolition + Phase 1 construction: the first buildings begin, often in areas that minimize disruption or allow partial site operation where feasible.
Subsequent phases: the remaining buildings roll out as market demand, financing, and approvals align.
This phased approach is common in large Calgary infill projects, and it’s especially relevant here given the site’s role as a community health destination.
6) Timeline: What We Know, What’s Probable, and What to Watch
No redevelopment timeline is perfectly linear—especially with a site of this scale—so the best approach is to separate confirmed milestones from probable next steps.
Confirmed milestones
1996: Grace Hospital closed as a hospital; the building continued in medical-office type use afterward. (Connect CRE Canada)
2017: City engagement on a land use redesignation concept for mixed-use health + residential.
September 2024: site reported “placed under contract,” with closing expected in early 2025. (Connect CRE Canada)
January 2025: acquisition reported as completed for $38.1M by Sumus and Bankside. (Connect CRE Canada)
March 4, 2025: City Council approved the Riley Communities Local Area Plan (Bylaw 25P2025), which matters because LAP policy guides growth, scale, mobility, and community improvements in the broader area. (engage.calgary.ca)
Probable next steps (based on public reporting)
2026: reporting indicates hope to break ground on Phase 1 in 2026. (renx.ca)
What to watch next (signals that the project is truly “moving”)
A public development permit submission (site plan, heights, massing, access, landscaping)
Transportation/parking strategy updates (this corner is already high-traffic)
Tenant relocation announcements and clinic move notices
Early site works (fencing, servicing, demolition scheduling)
7) Why This Redevelopment Matters for Calgary
From a city-building perspective, the former Grace Hospital site checks nearly every “good infill” box:
Inner-city location close to downtown, Kensington, and major institutions (SAIT, AUArts area context is frequently noted) (Connect CRE Canada)
Transit proximity (including nearby LRT access referenced in leasing materials)
Ability to add substantial housing supply in a built-up area, supporting broader affordability goals
Opportunity to add street-level retail that complements—not competes with—Kensington’s established main-street ecosystem (renx.ca)
For residents and stakeholders, the balancing act will be familiar: capturing the benefits of housing and amenities while managing traffic, parking spillover, building scale transitions, and construction impacts—issues that have been part of the public conversation on this site for years.
Closing Thoughts
The redevelopment of the former Grace Hospital site (Riley Park Village) is not just another infill proposal—it’s the transformation of a legacy institutional campus into a next-generation urban village: more homes, more daily services, and a different kind of density at one of Calgary’s most visible inner-city edges.
