Fonda

The northern half of Forest Lawn/Forest Heights goes by the name of Fonda, a small Calgary neighborhood boasting lower to middle-class citizens and an opportunity for residents to establish themselves as Calgarians. Originally established as a part of the City of Calgary in 1961, there is a current area redevelopment plan in place after years of residents’ complaints about the region. This redevelopment plan looks to reinvigorate the region in the decade to come. If one wants to purchase a property here in Calgary and/or in Fonda then the next few years is the time to make that purchase. There’s no question. With the multicultural International Avenue nearby, a reputation that is sure to be renewed, and with low-price housing at a premiere location, Fonda is quite the catch.

Public school students in Fonda attend the nearby Patrick Airlie elementary, Valley View elementary, Penbrook Meadows elementary, Ernest Morrow junior high, Ian Bazalgette junior high, and Forest Lawn senior high school – a student’s route through the public education system is different dependent on where they are situated in the Fonda region. Catholic school students attend the local St. Peter elementary, Holy Trinity elementary, Bishop Kidd junior high, and Father Lacombe senior high school.

Though Fonda has a rough and tough reputation, its’ a neighborhood on the verge of a reinvention. Featured regularly when discussing up-and-coming Calgary neighborhoods, Fonda is less than five minutes’ drive from the downtown centre and offers properties that are hundreds of thousands of dollars below the city average.

17th Avenue boasts a selection of restaurants touting Middle Eastern and African foods where food tours are held monthly to expose Calgarians to the area’s immigrant-friendly culture. The bustling Hong Kong Supermarket and La Casa Latina also make for enthusiastic visits whenever a resident chooses to explore a little of Fonda.

Calgary Transit has over a dozen stops set up in Fonda to help accommodate residents who need to travel to other areas of the city for recreation or employment.

Fonda is currently in transition from an area that once perhaps did warrant a reputation as it has to a new type of community. The International Avenue Business Revitalization Zone is evidence of this. There’s also a 1,000 seat theatre and arts centre in the process of being planned among an urban design that promises to increase outdoor public space, improve public transportation, and to install better residential dwellings. Should the neighborhood live up to a mere half of its’ potential let alone attain everything that the city has set out for it, Fonda will still be among the most privileged communities of its’ region. Worth taking a look for if one is searching for an affordable property with proximity to a variety of amenities, Fonda is where to look.