Prior to residential or commercial development in the community, Hillhurst was the site of industry, utilities and services activities. In 1904, Ezra Riley registered Plan 5609J and named it Hillhurst. Additional residential subdivisions would follow and with the construction of the Louise Bridge in 1906 and the introduction of a complete streetcar loop in the 1910s, mixed-use areas emerged along 10 Street NW and Kensington Road NW. Hillhurst continues to evolve and consists largely of residential uses, with mixed-use corridors spanning along Kensington Road NW, 14 Street NW and 10 Street NW. Other major destinations include Riley Park, Hillhurst Sunnyside Park, Hillhurst Community School, Queen Elizabeth High School and the former Grace Hospital site.

The lands where Hounsfield Heights / Briar Hill locate were first used as part of a cattle range by two cousins. The Alexander cousins would sell their land to the Riley family and following annexation in 1910, the lands of Hounsfield Heights were subdivided into a largely residential neighbourhood. Only eleven houses were built in Hounsfield Heights prior to the First World War and development would not begin again until after the Great Depression and World War Two. Briar Hill, started to develop into a residential area in the early 1950s and the city’s first purpose-built indoor shopping mall, Calgary Centre (later renamed North Hill Shopping Centre) was completed in 1958 alongside other commercial uses along 16 Avenue NW. The introduction of the Red Line LRT in the 1980s would further shape the community and lead to the twin-tower Renaissance project, the community’s first transit-station area development. Today, Hounsfield Heights / Briar Hill continues to evolve and experience residential infill development as a well-connected residential area anchored by the North Hill Shopping Centre and Lions Park Transit Station, along with commercial strip malls near the intersection of 16 Avenue NW and 19 Street NW. In addition to the Briar Hill School site, there are several public park spaces throughout the community which include the Louise Riley Park and Library and Hounsfield Heights Park. Additional institutional and alternative residential uses are located along 8 Avenue NW.

Sunnyside expanded residential development east along the Bow River when it was first subdivided in 1907. Prior to subdivision, it was home to several Indigenous encampments along the Bow River up until 1880. Homesteaders later located in the area and the completion of the Louise Bridge in 1906 and the streetcar network extension into Sunnyside in 1912 greatly impacted this community as it provided the context for the community to be a working-class district in the years leading to the First World War. This enabled further residential infill development in the 1920s despite its location in the Bow River floodplain and several historical floods that caused extensive damage. In recent years, Sunnyside has continued to experience residential infill development alongside new flood protection investments. A significant concentration of buildings and sites on the City’s Inventory of Evaluated Historic Resources remain in the community and illustrate the community’s rich history. Major destinations that define the community include the Calgary Curling Club, the Field of Crosses and the 10 Street NW Main Street - one of the Plan area’s more prominent Main Streets. 

Agricultural settlement in present-day West Hillhurst began in the 1880s with several homesteads. Most of present-day West Hillhurst was initially granted by the Crown to the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) as an incentive to construct a transcontinental railway. Subdivision development began in 1906, creating many of the smaller communities that were eventually amalgamated in to the West Hillhurst community area of today, namely Upper Hillhurst, Grand Trunk, Westmont, Happy Land and a portion of Parkdale. Extension of the streetcar network into the area in the early 1900s helped to create the connected community we know of today. West Hillhurst continues to transform into a well-connected residential community supported by a variety of commercial and institutional uses situated along Kensington Road NW, 19 Street NW and Crowchild Trail NW. Like Hillhurst and Sunnyside, West Hillhurst has excellent access to the park network along the Bow River, as well as several parks throughout the community, which includes West Hillhurst Park and Helicopter Park.

Opportunities for both new and expanding commercial amenities are envisioned at key nodes along 19 Street NW (at 16 Avenue NW and Kensington Road NW), further west along Kensington Road NW and Kensington Close NW between 14 Street NW and 10 Street NW, continuing north along 10 Street NW until 4 Avenue NW. Active Frontages are envisioned along the aforementioned Kensington Road NW and 10 Street NW stretches.

Opportunities for new mixed-use development (either fully residential, fully commercial or a combination of both) are envisioned at key nodes near Crowchild Trail NW and 5 Avenue NW, 20 Street NW and 12 Avenue NW, along 8 Avenue NW between 18A and 17 Street NW and the old Grace Hospital site. Further opportunities have been identified along Parkdale Boulevard NW, Kensington Road NW, 19 Street NW, 14 Street NW, 10 Street NW and 2 Avenue NW.

Opportunities for a range of different housing types allowing for limited smaller-scale commercial are envisioned throughout the Plan Area, located predominantly around Transit Station Areas, Collector roads and other more active corridors that connect to non-residential uses.

Opportunities for residential homes or home-based businesses continue to be predominant throughout the Plan Area.