Mario ToneguzziVancouver-based Anthem Properties Group Ltd. has bought the former CBC building just off Memorial Drive in Calgary and will use the site for a future residential redevelopment.

The 2.43-acre site is located at 1724 Westmount Boulevard N.W. in the Hillhurst-Sunnyside neighbourhood.

The building was vacated by the CBC last year as the national public broadcaster moved its team and operations to a new, modern facility in the Cambrian office centre further west on Memorial Drive, near Shaganappi Trail.

Anthem proposes to develop a townhome community with panoramic views of the river valley and downtown Calgary.

“We are pleased with the acquisition of the former CBC/Radio-Canada site and our proposal to develop high quality townhomes in the Hillhurst-Sunnyside neighborhood,” said Eric Carlson, CEO of Anthem, in a statement.

“Anthem is committed to Calgary as a core market for its diversified portfolio of residential and commercial properties. We see Alberta as a strong alternative to Toronto and Vancouver for businesses and families.”

Anthem has a strong residential portfolio in the Calgary that includes the multi-building Waterfront development just east of the Eau Claire Market along the Bow River.

It also recently bought property in the southwest Currie Barracks, where it plans to build townhomes and mid-rise apartments in the master-planned community. Plans for that site include 36 townhomes and two five-storey wood-frame apartments with 148 homes with the completion by the fall of 2021.

Anthem is also building a five-storey condo apartment complex in Kensington along Memorial Drive just west of 10th Street N.W. That building with about 150 units will be completed by late 2019.

The company also has plans for a massive development called Crosstown across from the Erlton-Stampede LRT station at the intersection of Macleod Trail and 25th Avenue S.W. Original plans for the mixed-use development included four residential towers with a residential podium of about 570,000 square feet.

Anthem has not decided when to move forward with that project.

Respected business writer Mario Toneguzzi is a veteran Calgary-based journalist who worked for 35 years for the Calgary Herald in various capacities, including 12 years as a senior business writer.