Lake Bonavista Community Reviews

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Completed in 1968, Lake Bonavista was the first manmade residential lake in Canada. At the time, the permit process for building a lake was not well established. The story goes that not only was the lake dug without all the necessary permits in place, but it was then filled without permission using water diverted from nearby Fish Creek. Beverly Sandalack, associate dean and professor of landscape architecture and planning in the Faculty of Environmental Design at the University of Calgary, says in land-locked Alberta, “water is a real drawing feature, for both living and recreation.” “I think it did start trends,” she said, adding you only need to check Google Maps to see the numbers of manmade lakes that have been built in the city since Lake Bonavista. “I can totally understand their appeal, and if you have a family, it must be totally fantastic to have that in your backyard.” But Sandalack also wonders what the future holds for lake communities, as climate change makes water a more and more valuable resource. She says in her department at the University of Calgary, “we talk a lot about what the 21st-century city is going to look like, and on the Prairies, it is just not going to be built around lakes.” That being said, the appeal of Calgary’s current lake communities remains strong. Mike Mikkelson recalls spending many happy days at Lake Bonavista as a child. Although his family lived in northwest Calgary, an aunt and uncle bought one of the first homes in Lake Bonavista, and he was a frequent visitor. Mikkelson says even then, “it was always in the back of my mind that one day I would move to (Lake) Bonavista.” That finally happened in 1995, and Mikkelson is now the president of the Lake Bonavista Homeowners Association, whose volunteer board oversees operation of the lake and surrounding parkland. “When Keith built the lake in 1968, he created the home owners association to be stewards of the lake and the park – to manage and take care of his legacy and what he created,” said Mikkelson. The association recently began construction of a new $2-million, 7,500-square-foot community building to replace the original one built in the late 1960s. Mikkelson says Lake Bonavista remains a great community in which to live, with many schools, churches, a shopping centre, easy access, and desirable homes that retain their property value. “But (the lake) is the centre piece,” he said. “People are moving back to the community for a lot of reasons, but I think most are coming for the lake.”