Hotchkiss, Calgary: 306 semis, and garages catching up

Hotchkiss is a community that barely existed in 2019, and since January 2023 it has mostly built new houses: 566 single-detached and 306 semi-detached permits, according to the City of Calgary's open data to 29 September 2026. The semis are what sets it apart. They make up a third of its new homes and 5.5% of every semi-detached permit in Calgary, and detached garages are now following the houses at a faster pace each year.

Why does Hotchkiss have so many semi-detached homes?

They came with the first phases. The City's permit data shows semis alongside the houses from the start: 38 in 2023, 110 in 2024, 102 in 2025 and 56 so far in 2026.

Permits issued, excluding cancelled ones. "Share of Calgary" is this community's part of the citywide count for the same project type and years. Declared value is what the applicant wrote on the permit application. It is not a quote and runs below real costs. Medians are shown only where a category has at least 5 permits. Source: City of Calgary open data (building permits, development permits, secondary suite registry, census 2021 population, census 2021 households, civic census 2019, land use districts), retrieved 5 October 2026.

The start was slow: only 74 new houses were permitted in 2023, then 215 in 2024 and 207 in 2025, the pattern of a community opening its first phases. A semi permit carried a median declared value of $174,237 against $308,967 for a detached house. Both are what applicants wrote on the permit, and both run below what the homes cost to build.

Townhouses are few (38 permits) but slow: a median of 65 days from application to issue, the longest wait for any project type here. A detached house took 18 days and a semi 19.

Can you add a garage or a backyard suite to a Hotchkiss semi?

A garage, yes: that's where the permits are heading. Hotchkiss issued 4 detached garage permits in 2023, 27 in 2024, 54 in 2025 and 56 in 2026 to 29 September, with a median declared value of $38,576 (the applicant's figure, below real costs) and 13 days to issue. The garage curve runs about a year behind the house curve.

A backyard suite is narrower. As our backyard suite guide explains, since 4 August 2026 a backyard suite isn't allowed with a semi-detached home except in R-G and R-Gm, or where it was approved before that date. R-G is the largest district in Hotchkiss, but it covers well under half the area, so check your own lot's district on the City's land use map. No backyard suite permits were issued here in the window.

For the garage itself, our garage size guide and detached garage cost guide cover widths, doors and Calgary prices.

How big are new houses in Hotchkiss?

Mid-sized, and growing. The median was 1,885 sq ft across 566 permits, and 289 of them, just over half, fell between 1,500 and 1,999 sq ft.

The floor area the applicant entered on the building permit, for new single-detached houses issued in the same window. It usually excludes the basement. Source: City of Calgary open data (building permits, development permits, secondary suite registry, census 2021 population, census 2021 households, civic census 2019, land use districts), retrieved 5 October 2026.

Only 27 houses reached 2,500 sq ft and none reached 3,000. The year-by-year medians show the shift: 1,788 sq ft in 2023, 1,783 in 2024, 1,986 in 2025 and 2,020 in 2026 so far. These are above-grade figures from the permit and usually leave out the basement. At 1,800 to 2,000 sq ft, the decisions that matter are the ones you can't undo cheaply: stair placement, the kitchen wall, and whether the mudroom fits a bench.

How do suites and development permits work in Hotchkiss?

Suites are arriving, but slowly. Hotchkiss issued 84 permits for suites created by altering existing space (8 in 2024, 47 in 2025 and 29 so far in 2026) and 32 suite permits classed as new construction.

Development permits applied for from 1 January 2023; many home projects in Calgary need only a building permit, so these are a subset of all work. The registry lists suites the City has confirmed meet the rules, not every suite that exists. Source: City of Calgary open data (building permits, development permits, secondary suite registry, census 2021 population, census 2021 households, civic census 2019, land use districts), retrieved 5 October 2026.

The registry grew from 5 suites added in 2023 to 60 in 2024 and 89 in 2025, for 209 in total. Only 4 of the 57 development permit applications since 2023 were for suites, which fits a community whose largest district is R-G, where a suite that follows every rule is a permitted use and goes to a building permit. Our basement suite guide has the rules as of October 2026.

The 94.5-day median for development permits is the slow spot. It covers every kind of application, from homes in R-Gm (18 applications) to the few on future urban development land, so treat it as a warning to apply early rather than a figure for your project.

How much of Hotchkiss is zoned for homes?

A bit under half, by area. R-G is the biggest single district at about 39.7%, R-Gm adds 4.9%, and the residential districts together come to about 48% of Hotchkiss.

The share of the community's districted area in each land use district, from the City's district and community boundary maps intersected exactly. Districts change by lot and by amendment: check a specific lot on the City's land use map before you plan. Source: City of Calgary open data (building permits, development permits, secondary suite registry, census 2021 population, census 2021 households, civic census 2019, land use districts), retrieved 5 October 2026.

Special purpose districts hold most of the rest. S-TUC, which the City labels Transportation and Utility Corridor, takes 13.3%, and S-FUD, Future Urban Development, 13%, the largest S-FUD share of any residential community in the Southeast sector. S-UN, Urban Nature, covers 10.9% and S-SPR, School, Park and Community Reserve, 7.4%. That much S-FUD fits a community still opening phases, and 3 development permit applications here were on it. Direct Control parcels, about 3.1%, follow their own bylaw. Look up your lot on the City's land use map before you plan a garage or suite around it.

Seeing a Hotchkiss plan at full size

In a semi, the party wall fixes the width of every room, so a walkthrough settles width: whether the hallway past the stairs feels tight, whether a king bed leaves a usable path in the primary bedroom, whether the island crowds the back door. On our walkable LED floor, the plan is lit at full size with room names and dimension lines, and our freestanding walls, sofas, dining table and chairs let you test furniture before it's bought. The elevations go up on a wall-size screen behind the floor.

A standard session is two hours, and every session is recorded for you to keep. Sessions are quoted by the plan's size and the quote is free: see pricing, then book a time. Other Southeast communities are on the communities hub.