Live in Savanna
A Genstar-built community east of Métis Trail in far northeast Calgary, growing since 2012 around the Savanna Bazaar.
Savanna is one of Calgary's newest communities: Genstar bought the 320-acre parcel in 2012, held a grand opening in 2016, and has been building out steadily since, aiming for roughly 7,300 residents at completion. It sits inside the broader Saddle Ridge area of the far northeast, east of Métis Trail, and is still adding homes, schools and retail rather than being a fixed, finished place. This is what living here is actually like so far.
A far-northeast community that is still arriving
East of Métis Trail and south of Airport Trail NE, within the Saddle Ridge area of Calgary's far northeast. Ward 5.
Savanna began in 2012, when Genstar Development Co. paid $75.5 million for a 129-hectare (320-acre) parcel east of Métis Trail from retired contractor Oscar Fech. Genstar held its grand opening in September 2016, and the community has been under active construction ever since.
It sits east of Métis Trail and south of Airport Trail NE, inside the broader Saddle Ridge area of the city's far northeast — Ward 5. The Saddletowne CTrain Station, the Blue Line's northeast terminus, opened the same year Genstar bought the land, and sits just west of the community.
Housing mix. Builders including Cardel Homes, Excel Homes, Prominent Homes, Akash Homes and Homes by Avi deliver front-garage, laned, paired and townhouse product from the $400s. The plan targets roughly 7,300 residents at build-out, with six playgrounds and parks and two reserved school sites — substantial parts of the community are still under construction.
Savanna Bazaar, a 92,000 sq ft open-air retail centre modelled on South Asian and Middle Eastern markets, opened at 88 Avenue and Savanna Drive NE — doctors' offices, a pharmacy and food alongside boutique retail, and the community's own commercial heart rather than an import from elsewhere in the city.
Calgary Transit's Route 59 Savanna runs directly to Saddletowne Station, and the Genesis Centre — the northeast's anchor recreation facility — is under ten minutes away. Light of Christ serves Savanna's Catholic families through junior high, and Nelson Mandela High School covers senior high alongside Saddle Ridge, Taradale and Martindale.
- This is one of the newest communities on this site — parts are still under construction, and long-run resale and school-enrolment history do not exist yet
- No separate civic census figures exist for Savanna; the population numbers here are the developer's build-out plan, not a count
- Two of the community's planned school sites are still undeveloped — confirm current designated schools for a specific address before you buy
- Airport flight paths are a real consideration this close to Calgary International
- Construction traffic and unfinished streetscapes are normal in the newer phases
- Savanna Bazaar is the only significant retail inside the boundaries so far — most bigger-box shopping means a drive to Sunridge or Marlborough
How Savanna got here
- 2012Genstar Development Co. buys the 129-hectare (320-acre) parcel east of Métis Trail from retired contractor Oscar Fech for $75.5 million.
- 2012The Saddletowne CTrain Station opens on the Blue Line, just west of the future Savanna site.
- September 2016Genstar holds a grand opening for the new community, with a plan for roughly 7,300 residents at build-out.
- 2016Nelson Mandela High School opens at 45 Saddletowne Circle NE, becoming the designated senior high for Saddle Ridge, Taradale and Martindale — and eventually Savanna.
- Late 2010sBuild-out proceeds with builders including Cardel Homes, Excel Homes, Prominent Homes, Akash Homes and Homes by Avi, delivering front-garage, laned, paired and townhouse product.
- c. 2020Savanna Bazaar, a 92,000 sq ft open-air, South Asian and Middle Eastern-inspired retail centre, opens at 88 Avenue and Savanna Drive NE.
- TodayTwo of the community's planned school sites remain undeveloped, and construction continues in Savanna's newer phases.
A regional pathway network still filling in, and Prairie Winds up the road
Savanna's own open space is its regional pathway network and six planned playgrounds and parks, still filling in as later phases build out. Prairie Winds Park — one of the northeast's big civic parks — is nine to thirteen minutes away, and Chestermere Lake is the honest lake option, fifteen to twenty-two minutes east.
The resident's angle: don't expect mature parkland yet — most of Savanna's own green space was planted within the last decade, so trees and landscaping are still growing in. Prairie Winds Park and the Genesis Centre are what carry the community until the internal network matures.
21 places, with real drive times
Road-adjusted distance and drive time from the centre of the community to each destination, nearest first. Filter by category.
Showing 1–12 of 21 places, nearest first.
Method: distances and drive times are estimated from the Savanna Drive area to each destination using Calgary's road grid, and are rounded to honest ranges rather than presented as precise figures. Because Savanna is still building out, its own centre point will keep shifting as later phases are added — treat these as directional, not survey-grade.
Every gym within reach
The northeast is served by large civic facilities rather than a dense cluster of private clubs, and Savanna's own retail centre carries only a handful of fitness and wellness storefronts so far. Confirm hours before you count on any of them.
- Village Square Leisure Centre adds a wave pool, arena and library branch, twelve to seventeen minutes away
- Max Bell Centre has twin arenas, thirteen to eighteen minutes southwest
- Savanna Bazaar carries a small number of fitness and wellness studios — check which are currently open
- The community's own pathway network is the free option, and it is expanding as later phases build out
| Facility | What it is | Drive |
|---|---|---|
| Genesis Centre open | The northeast's anchor recreation facility: gymnasiums, fitness centre, indoor courts, library branch and community programming. | 7–11 min |
| Village Square Leisure Centre open | Wave pool, arena, fitness space and a library branch under one roof. | 12–17 min |
| Max Bell Centre open | Twin arenas and community recreation space, southwest along the rail corridor. | 13–18 min |
| Savanna Bazaar clinics and studios open | The closest paid fitness and wellness storefronts, inside the community's own retail centre — confirm which studios are currently trading. | 1–3 min |
| Savanna community pathways open | Free option: the community's own regional pathway network and green space. | 1–3 min |
Check what's actually open. As a newer retail node, tenants at Savanna Bazaar turn over; confirm a specific studio is trading before you rely on it.
A Catholic K–9 inside the community, and the rest a short drive away
Light of Christ covers Catholic students from kindergarten through grade 9 inside Savanna and Saddle Ridge together. Public students go to Saddle Ridge School for elementary and Nelson Mandela High School for grades 10–12; two more school sites are reserved in the community plan but not yet built.
| School | Board | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Light of Christ Catholic Elementary and Junior High School | Calgary Catholic | Designated K–9, serving Savanna together with Saddle Ridge. |
| Saddle Ridge School | Calgary Board of Education | Designated public elementary for the wider Saddle Ridge area, immediately west of Savanna. |
| Nelson Mandela High School | Calgary Board of Education | Designated senior high, grades 10–12, at 45 Saddletowne Circle NE — serves Saddle Ridge, Taradale and Martindale. |
| Two reserved school sites | Both boards | Land is reserved within Savanna's own community plan but not yet built. Confirm the current designated school for a specific address with the board before you buy. |
| Calgary Catholic School District | Calgary Catholic | Alberta funds Catholic education the same way it funds public education, so there is no tuition for a resident student at either board. |
Alberta funds Catholic education the same way it funds public education, so there is no tuition for a resident student at either board. Confirm the current designated school for a specific address with the board before you buy — designations in a community this new change as enrolment catches up with construction.
Month by month, what living here looks like
Not a highlights reel — the actual annual rhythm, including the dates residents have to remember.
- Chinooks reach the far northeast last and weakest of anywhere in the city
- Genesis Centre carries the indoor season
- Airport Trail and Métis Trail are priority-plowed routes
- Wind off the open land north of Savanna is a real factor
- Indoor recreation at Genesis Centre at its busiest
- Coldest stretches usually break with a chinook
- Chestermere Lake ice fishing and skating, twenty minutes east
- Longer light by month end
- Melt and refreeze on Savanna's newer sidewalks
- Prairie wind picks up as the snow goes
- Community pathways reopen
- Savanna Bazaar patios start filling on mild afternoons
- Last hard frosts — planting waits until the long weekend
- Playing fields dry out at Prairie Winds Park
- Route 59 ridership picks up as the mud dries
- Migratory birds return to the open land north of Airport Trail
- Long evenings — sunset past 9pm by month end
- Community league and minor sport seasons start
- Hail season begins — the northeast gets more than its share
- New landscaping and sod goes in across Savanna's newest phases
- Peak daylight at the solstice — over 16 hours
- School year ends at Light of Christ and Nelson Mandela
- Thunderstorm season fully under way
- Savanna Bazaar's outdoor stalls run their longest hours of the year
- Calgary Stampede — ten days, about twenty-five minutes southwest
- Evening thunderstorms roll in from the west
- Hottest month, with little mature-tree shade in a community this new
- Chestermere beaches busy on warm weekends
- Globalfest fireworks at Elliston Park
- Quietest weeks before school returns
- Harvest and construction traffic both pick up on Airport Trail
- Savanna Bazaar's food stalls at their busiest
- School year restarts at Light of Christ, Saddle Ridge School and Nelson Mandela
- First frost typically arrives late in the month
- Savanna Bazaar busiest with back-to-school shopping
- Prairie colour turns across the open land north of the community
- First snow is normal, and normally melts
- Snow tires go on
- Shorter evenings noticeable by mid-month
- Construction continues into the shoulder season on Savanna's unbuilt phases
- Dark by 5pm
- Indoor recreation season restarts at Genesis Centre
- Savanna Bazaar's holiday retail season begins
- Freeze sets in on Chestermere Lake
- Zoolights at the Calgary Zoo, twenty-five minutes southwest
- Holiday quiet across the community
- Chestermere ice starts to hold
- Chinooks, when they come, arrive late and weak here
36 photographs of the community and its surroundings
All freely licensed and served from this app — nothing loads from a third party. Filter by category.
Showing 1–12 of 36 photographs.
Honesty note. This page uses only the general Calgary, seasonal, Alberta-wildlife and day-trip photography from the site's shared library. Nothing here is presented as a photograph of Savanna itself, which is too new and too fast-changing to have its own photo library yet.