The April 2024 council approval of the Three Sisters Village Phase 1 Conceptual Scheme marked the culmination of years of planning negotiations between Three Sisters Mountain Village Properties, the Town of Canmore, and the Province of Alberta. The decision set in motion the development of 72 acres in the northeast of the Three Sisters Village plan area, land that will eventually hold thousands of residential units and, over a longer horizon, a range of commercial uses. Understanding what this approval means today, and what it will mean over the next decade, is important context for anyone investing in Canmore commercial real estate. 

What Phase 1 Actually Contains 

Phase 1 of Three Sisters Village is primarily residential. The conceptual scheme designates the initial 72-acre area for townhome, stacked townhome, and apartment buildings, along with an affordable housing component. The subdivision application received tentative approval in September 2024, and development permit applications can now be submitted on titled lots. Commercial land uses are addressed in later phases of the broader ASP and are not the driver of current development activity. 

This sequencing matters for commercial investors. The near-term effect of Phase 1 on Canmore’s commercial market is demand-side, new residents generating retail spending, requiring services, and increasing the overall consumer base of the community. The supply-side impact, new commercial space being brought to market in the Three Sisters area, is further out. 

The Commercial Infrastructure Question 

A large residential development in the northeast of Canmore creates commercial demand that the existing Bow Valley Trail and Main Street corridors may not absorb as efficiently as a new neighborhood commercial node could. The longer-term build-out of Three Sisters Village contemplates some commercial uses to serve the new population, but the specific programming, timing, and location of that commercial component are still well outside the current planning horizon. 

For investors in existing Canmore commercial property, the Phase 1 approval is more positive than negative in the near term. Population and visitor growth generate retail and hospitality demand. The addition of thousands of new residents to Canmore’s market area, many of whom will be higher-income second-home buyers or long-term residents, supports the consumer spending that sustains the town’s commercial operators. 

“The risk for existing commercial landlords is not near-term competition from Three Sisters, it is the decade after that, when the full commercial buildout of the area begins to materialize.” 

Land Value Implications 

The approval of Phase 1 has put a floor under land values in the Three Sisters area and has given the broader market a clearer signal about the development trajectory of Canmore’s northeast. For owners of commercial land or commercial-zoned property elsewhere in town, the approval is generally positive, it confirms the town’s commitment to growth and generates the population base that supports commercial density. For buyers seeking development land, it has largely clarified pricing at the margin.