Neighbourhood History
The Willow Ridge Community Association was established in February of 1967, and has operated continuously since then. The combined residents of Willow Park and Maple Ridge, according to the 2019 Calgary Civic Census, is 7,244. According to the census, the median age of our communities is 45 years old, with the community enjoying a sustainable influx of new residents. While the majority of our members are from the Willow Park and Maple Ridge areas, we also have a significant number of members from the Acadia, Fairview, Lake Bonavista, Ogden, Riverbend, and Southwood areas. From the beginning the goal of the WRCA was to provide our communities with a facility that can support social and recreational programs to people of all ages at a reasonable cost to its members.
Past renovations have been done in 1974, 1987, and 2003. In 2012 the City of Calgary provided us with some funding after they re-designated some of the WRCA’s land near Southcentre mall. In 2014 it became clear that the Community Association would have to upgrade to better meet the needs of the changing surrounding communities. The community centre required larger spaces and more soundproofing (in order to accommodate larger events), more multi-purpose rooms, storage space, increased accessibility, access to temperature controls, and a larger entrance and foyer to accommodate people moving in and out of the building. All this information was gathered through open houses, and meetings with the community residents where they were given a space to voice their concerns about the centre. In 2019, the entire building was redeveloped to make it more environmentally friendly and increase functionality.
The WRCA has soccer fields, basketball, tennis and pickleball courts, ice rink, and a community garden, all of the above having been recently upgraded through the hard work and dedication of our board members and volunteers. As a community centre we encourage volunteering and have opportunities for people to get together to help their neighbourhood. We match people with the volunteer tasks that suit them best, and you get to meet other people who are passionate about the same things you are!
We use both social media and a monthly newsletter to get our news and information about events out to our community residents, along with a variety of interesting articles for our residents to read. The Community Centre’s goal is to continue to be a gathering space for people of all ages, where they can find any kind of activity that might interest them. It has been in operation for over 50 years and hopes to continue to bring people together for 50 more.
