Centre sector · Calgary
Chinatown Homes for Sale
Ask Kelly for current listings in Chinatown — Kelly Baker, Keller Williams BOLD Realty.
Listings
Homes for sale in Chinatown
Kelly can send you current MLS® listings in Chinatown that match your search, plus recent comparable sales.
By the numbers
Chinatown at a glance
Population and dwelling counts: City of Calgary civic census, 2019 — the most recent civic census published. Current properties: the City’s property assessment roll. That is the up-to-date count, but it counts titles rather than households — each condominium unit is its own title, while a rental apartment building is a single title however many suites it holds. In newer, mostly-owned communities the two numbers track closely; in older communities with rental blocks the roll sits below the census count for that reason. Sector: City of Calgary community district boundaries.
The community
About Chinatown
Fun facts: the Chinese Cultural Centre is styled after Beijing’s Temple of Heaven and is described as the largest facility of its kind in North America. Chinatown’s roots are in the railway — it began with workers who stayed after the CPR was finished, and between 1885 and 1888 five Chinese businessmen opened laundries on Stephen Avenue, with a community growing around them. And the 1916 Centre Street Bridge at its edge is guarded by stone lions.
Chinatown is a compact inner-city district on the south bank of the Bow River, between downtown, Eau Claire and East Village, with Centre Street running through it. It’s mostly condos and apartments (the typical home dates to 2008) above a busy street of restaurants, bakeries, shops and Dragon City Mall, and the CTrain is a short walk away.
The Calgary Chinese Cultural Centre on 1 Street SW is the heart of the community — the Calgary Chinatown Community Association runs its programs from there — along with a seniors’ centre and the Chinese Public School Society. Along the river, Sien Lok Park and the pathway connect to the Centre Street Bridge.
Things to do: the free Chinese Cultural Centre Museum, open daily; the Chinese New Year Festival every February; the Chinatown Street Festival on 3 Avenue every August, now more than 20 years running; Sien Lok Park, with its “In Search of Gold Mountain” sculpture, pagoda and tai chi area; and Prince’s Island Park a short walk west.
Nearest farmers’ market: Bridgeland-Riverside Farmers’ Market, 917 Centre Avenue NE — Thursdays, 3:30–7:30 pm, mid-June to early October — about 1.5 km away. Year-round, the closest is Hillhurst Sunnyside Farmers’ Market (1320 5 Avenue NW), about 2 km away.
The past
History of Chinatown
Calgary's Chinese community began in 1883, when workers who had built the Canadian Pacific Railway settled near what is now 8 Avenue and 2 Street SE. That first Chinatown was lost in the Great Calgary Fire of 1886, and the community rebuilt a few blocks away, only to be pushed out again when railway plans drove up land prices.
In 1910, a delegation led by Ho Lem negotiated with the City for a permanent home at the foot of the Centre Street Bridge. The Chinese-owned Canton Block was the first building in the new Chinatown, which has stayed on this spot for more than a century despite opposition at the time.
In the 1960s, the City proposed a downtown freeway that would have cut through much of Chinatown and Eau Claire. Residents organized and stopped it, led by the Sien Lok Society, the group that Sien Lok Park on the riverbank is named after. The Calgary Chinese Cultural Centre, finished in 1992, marked a new chapter for the neighbourhood.
Source: Heritage Calgary; Calgary Heritage Initiative
Recreation
The community association in Chinatown
Chinatown is served by the Calgary Chinatown Community Association. It has no hall of its own; programs run through the Chinese Cultural Centre.
On the ground
Chinatown in photos
Parks, trails, green space and recreation
Amenities and services
Streets, homes and entrances
Questions
Chinatown — common questions
Which schools are inside Chinatown?
1 school sits inside the community boundary: Calgary Chinese Private School. Being inside the boundary is not the same as being the designated school for a given address.
Which schools serve Chinatown?
A school being the closest one does not make it the designated one — catchments change year to year and can split a single street. Send me the exact address in Chinatown and I will confirm the designated school before you write an offer.
What are homes selling for in Chinatown?
Community-level prices move month to month, so a number published on a website is out of date almost immediately. Call 403-464-6672 and I will pull the actual recent sales in Chinatown — what closed, at what price, and how long it took.
Schools
Schools near Chinatown
Every school within 3 km of the centre of Chinatown, taken from The City of Calgary's school locations dataset (online-only and home-education programs excluded). Distance is straight-line from the City's community centre point — it is not a catchment.
In Chinatown
| Calgary Chinese Private School | Senior High | 0.1 km |
|---|
Nearby
Within 3 km, in neighbouring communities.
| Italian School of Calgary | Junior High/Senior High | 0.7 km |
|---|---|---|
| Lady Fatima Academy | Elementary/Junior High | 0.9 km |
| Discovering Choices | Senior High | 1.0 km |
| Calgary Classical Academy | Elementary | 1.0 km |
| Riverside School | Elementary/Junior High | 1.1 km |
| Crescent Heights High School | Senior High | 1.2 km |
| Sunnyside School | Elementary | 1.3 km |
Catchments are set by the Calgary Board of Education and the Calgary Catholic School District, not by community boundaries, and they change year to year. A school inside the community is not automatically the designated one. Send me the address and I will confirm the designated school before you write an offer.
Amenities
In Chinatown
From The City of Calgary's community services dataset.
Calgary Chinese Cultural Centre
Nearby
Communities that border Chinatown
These share a boundary with Chinatown on the City of Calgary’s community map.
Own a home in Chinatown?
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