Neighbourhood
The Quietest Location in Marda Loop
Urban design & Main Street charm
Marda Loop is a vibrant and diverse neighbourhood welcoming professionals, empty nesters, while also making room for families with young children.
Neighbourhood improvements and art initiatives continue to improve the look and feel of the area, ensuring a safe and welcoming feel for all.
Truly pedestrian-friendly, with a wide variety of merchants in the local business improvement district, Marda Loop also offers free street parking for those who visit the area. A community full of independent shops and stores, Marda Loop has a true Main Street feeling balanced by upscale choices and brands.
You’ll find most of the shops along 33rd and 34th Avenues and between Crowchild Trail and 19th St. SW, and along Garrison Gate SW. The neighbourhood borders both Altadore and Garrison Woods, and the build site is tucked just off main streets to ensure a quiet and peaceful place to call home.
With a Walk Score of 84, a Bike Score of 100 and Transit Score of 52 every amenity you could want including a Safeway grocery store and pharmacy (complete with travel clinic) is right in the neighbourhood. Want something a little different for dinner or need a hard to find item? Wander into Blush Lane Organics for a full offering of organic and specialty foods.
The Quietest
Location in
Marda Loop
Brunch to dinner and everything in between
If you love street level shopping and having favourite neighbourhood spots to eat and drink, Marda Loop is sure to charm you.
Coffee shops, restaurants, pubs, eat-in and takeout offerings are everywhere, ensuring the neighbourhood can meet your every craving.
Whether you need a gift or something for yourself, enjoy the warm welcome each storefront offers and window shop the afternoon away. Browse shops offering clothing, floral, jewellery, and upscale offerings for pets. You’ll see everything from ice cream, baking, tea, specialty foods, home decor, plus wine and spirits simply by strolling the Marda Loop business district.
Wellness is a big focus for residents of this area as well, so you’ll find spas and a wide range of salons, as well as yoga, spin, and fitness studios. Book a massage, see a naturopath, or visit a physiotherapist – they’re all close by!
Other services on offer include optometry, dentistry, pediatric dentistry, orthodontics, child care, green dry cleaning, banks, insurance agencies, registry office, vet clinic, and doggie daycare.
If you love market season, you must visit the new Farmers and Makers Market located at the old King Edward School at 1721 29th Ave S.W. (now the newly developed cSPACE King Edward arts and community hub.) It’s open Saturdays all summer from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. with more than 50 vendors outside. They say they’re the largest outdoor market in the city, with kids programming every weekend.
For a dose of arts and culture, if you haven’t visited the nearby cSPACE King Edward, you absolutely need to check out this forward thinking project just north of Marda Loop. A playground for creativity, community, and collaboration, their goal is to be an arts hub, innovative venue and coworking space for Calgary to experiment, explore and spark change.
Thoughtful
Spaces for
Peace of Mind
Generous greenspace with downtown views
Marda Loop is full of opportunities to stay active and enjoy the outdoors.
While residents stay active walking in the community and enjoying the mature trees and gardens as they stroll, there is much more here! Parks, playgrounds, skating rinks (indoor and outdoor), swimming pools (indoor and outdoor), golf courses, tennis courts, and beach volleyball are all within easy reach, ensuring you and your family make the most of your time together.
You’ll have easy access to Glenmore Athletic Park, as well as River Park offering expansive, well-treed, off leash space for dogs complete with the view of the river. Keep exploring and you’ll find Sandy Beach, one of the city’s hidden gems for outdoor recreation and river access.
Marda Loop hosts an annual street festival in early August called the Marda Gras Festival, as well as the annual Marda Loop Justice Film Festival. Marda Gras attracts over 35,000 attendees from all over who come to enjoy the neighbourhood, street vendors, entertainment, and food of New Orleans.
New development, deep historical roots
While Marda Loop is currently seeing great leaps in development and design all through the neighbourhood, it’s important to note the roots of this community run deep. Growth has been steady since the early days of the neighbourhood’s past, with graceful evolution of planning and design. This neighbourhood has kept longtime residents while also welcoming new residents to move in and grow with the area.
The Military Museums of Calgary and the Garrison Woods Memorial Walk offer a note of history to balance the new development in the area and ensuring the neighbourhood keeps its identity and roots intact.
Live the urban
lifestyle you’ve
been planning
Where did Marda Loop get its name?
The name actually comes from not one, but two important pieces of history in South Calgary: the Marda Theatre and the “loop” made by a trolley car that travelled through Calgary’s downtown in the early days. The route brought the trolley car out to Marda Loop where it would turn about and loop back to downtown. These landmarks linger in memory and help give Marda Loop a feeling of history.
Marda Loop is part of an active and committed communities association that includes the communities of South Calgary, Altadore, Garrison Woods, and River Park. Their vision is to be an evolving, vibrant, urban community that is engaged, connected, and desirable.