A Calgary developer has broken ground on a 400,000-square-feet private club located just southeast of the city.  

Jayman Living’s Nostalgia Club will be located at Nostalgia Townlet in southeast Calgary, a 500-acre, phased master-planned residential community developed by the same company.

Jayman says strong demand for exclusive club memberships, a shortage of options and general growth in the city, means now is the right time for the new club.  

The club is expected to open in Fall 2029 near the Bow River and will include recreation, athletics, aquatics, wellness, dining and business space. It’s particularly designed and amenitized to attract families and multigenerational users, the developers told RENX. 

The club will be built by CANA, which is also part of the construction team behind Scotia Place.

Jay Westman, chairman and CEO with Jayman Living, said this is the first private club they have developed. He said there is pent-up demand for an exclusive club in Calgary with other, existing clubs experiencing strong subscription levels. 

Hope to harness demand for services in growing CMA

Westman said Nostalgia Club will offer a private club option outside the city core and the political and social dynamics in Calgary seem ripe for the offering.

Calgary and its greater metropolitan area are projected to reach two million residents as early as the late 2020s, according to the Alberta government's regional dashboard. Explosive growth for a city that had a population of under 1.3 million in 2016.

"We're at the scale where we can handle another private club of this size in the city of Calgary," said Kevin Boyles, executive director with the Nostalgia Club. "If you look to Vancouver, to Toronto — the big cities in Canada — you see six, seven of these clubs in those bigger cities, and we just believe Calgary's ready for it."

He said initial memberships will be sold for $103,000 (price will vary depending on the size of your family) with additional fees charged on an annual basis (also varying by family size). Extra costs would be paid by members for additional services, classes and food and beverage.

The amenities at the club will include an NHL-sized ice rink, a climbing centre, indoor and outdoor racquet courts, a gymnasium and gymnastics centre and a 25-metre swimming pool and a rooftop spa with a sauna, steam therapy and hot/cold plunge. A wellness centre will offer physiotherapy, chiropractic care and acupuncture.

For business groups, the club will provide a ballroom and banquet services, private dining rooms, business lounges and boardrooms for meetings and events. 

The Nostalgia Club will also have five dining venues including a coffee shop, sports lounge, fine dining restaurant, wine bar and a speakeasy-style lounge. 

Financial details for the development of the club have not been revealed.

Club business model is shifting

The business model of private clubs has been shifting, according to Northstar, a company that provides club management software to 1,500 clubs around the world. 

In a recent post, the company said holistic wellness needs to be part of the offering and that goes beyond fitness and sports centres and should include mental health and wellness spaces and services, recovery, and personalized nutrition services. 

It’s crucial to let go of the culture of older, stuffy country club vibes and instead shift to flexible, all-family amenities and programming, Northstar said. "Clubs must master the art of balancing tradition with the offerings desired by a younger cohort (e.g. casual dining, family-centric activities),” the post said. “The club must become a destination for all ages, from toddlers to retirees."

A hub for Nostalgia Townlet

The club will fold into Jayman's existing community: Nostalgia Townlet, which will eventually include single-family detached homes, townhomes, semi-detached homes, condominiums, rental properties and seniors' living.

Westman said sales and initial construction are happening in the community now, with 18 show homes complete. 

Club membership will not be limited to residents of the master-planned community, however.

"Certainly, there'll be lots of people that are not living in Nostalgia… (who will) become members of Nostalgia Club,” Boyles said.

Westman said the sales and marketing program has started now, and they have a large model of the club in the presentation centre at the development.  "We're going to be open in 36 months," he said. 

About Jayman Living

Jayman Living (operating under the broader umbrella of Jayman BUILT and JWI Investments) is one of Alberta's largest residential developers and homebuilders. 

It was founded by current chairman and CEO Jay Westman and his late father, Al, in 1980.