There's a lot changing in Cochrane, Alberta right now, and some of these projects have taken years to get here. The interchange everybody talked about for years is finished. A brand new school is going up in Rivercrest. The province just put money toward designing a new high school. And there's a Costco landing just down the road. Whether you're thinking about moving to Cochrane or you already live here and you're wondering what all this construction means for you, here's where each project actually stands.
The short version
Done: the Highway 1A and 22 interchange, the Bow Valley High School expansion, the Greystone Co-op, a 20 court pickleball park, and a handful of new parks and local spots.
Being built: the new K to 8 school in Rivercrest (opening fall 2028), the James Walker Trail extension, Costco at Bingham Crossing, and new homes in Southbow Landing, West Hawk, Heartland, and Greystone.
Still in planning: a new high school for about 1,500 students, Horse Creek Sports Park, and a twinned Highway 22 bridge over the Bow River.
The honest part: the commuter bus to Calgary has stopped, schools are catching up, and the town is planning for close to 60,000 people by 2035.
Moving to Cochrane? My free Moving to Cochrane Guide walks you through every neighbourhood in town, the new ones and the established ones, so you can see which one fits your family.
12. New parks, playgrounds, and pickleball
These are the projects you'll actually feel on a Saturday morning. Samuel Spicer Park in West Valley has a brand new inclusive playground, built so kids of all ages and abilities can play together. Glenbow School has a new accessible playground thanks to a parent-led fundraiser, and Glenpatrick Drive is just about finished with new pipes, a rebuilt road, new sidewalks, and a new traffic circle. Down on the Bow, the riverbank at Jim Uffelmann Park is being restored with native plants, and the off leash area is still open. The Mitford Park ball diamond is getting its first full rebuild this fall.
And in Greystone, beside the Spray Lakes Sawmills Family Sports Centre, there's now a 20 court pickleball park. That's big enough to bring tournaments to Cochrane, which is great news for our local restaurants and businesses too.
Sources: Town of Cochrane, Samuel Spicer Park · CochraneNow, pickleball park
11. New places to eat and drink
A bunch of new local spots opened this year. Sheepdog Brewing from Canmore opened its taproom on Bow Street. AJ's Irie Jerk on Third Avenue is Cochrane's very first Caribbean restaurant. Covet Sips and Sweets serves dirty sodas and giant cookies out of a little shipping container, The Common Works is a new makerspace and community art centre with coffee, and The Loft upstairs at Half Hitch is a cozy cocktail lounge with live music on Saturdays. If you're looking for a date night, start there.
10. The Co-op and Greystone Place
The Calgary Co-op in Greystone opened last fall with a pharmacy, a gas station, and a liquor store. Why does a grocery store make this list? For a long time most of Cochrane's shopping was in one spot downtown. Greystone Place, filling in around the Co-op with spots like Heal and Eunoia Flow Spa, is the start of a second little hub that's walkable for everyone living in Greystone.
Curious about the community? Read my Greystone Cochrane guide.
9. Costco at Bingham Crossing
This one isn't technically in Cochrane, but I have a feeling it's the one a lot of you have been waiting for. Costco is coming to Bingham Crossing in Springbank, just off Highway 1 across from Calaway Park, with a gas bar and a liquor store. There's no official opening date yet. Right now, the closest Costco for most of us is Beacon Hill in northwest Calgary. Once this one opens, it's a quick drive down Highway 22. The plan also includes restaurants, more shops, and about 190 homes for seniors.
Source: Bingham Crossing project updates
Own a home near one of these projects?
A new school, a new road, or a Costco nearby can change what your home is worth and how quickly it would sell. If you're curious where your home sits today, I'd love to put together a free home evaluation for you. No pressure at all, just an honest number.
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8. Bow Valley High School expansion
Bow Valley High celebrated its finished expansion on October 2nd. The $55 million project adds room for about 500 more students, so the school can now hold about 1,400. There are 16 new classrooms, a bigger gym, and new mechanics and woodworking shops, plus a new cosmetology program and expanded construction and mechanics programs. If your teenager learns best with their hands, that's a real option right here in town.
Source: CochraneNow
7. A new high school for Cochrane
In March, the province announced funding to design a new high school in the Horse Creek area north of Heritage Hills, planned for about 1,500 students. To be honest about the timing: the money right now is for designing it. Funding to build it hasn't been announced, and the estimate is about 3 to 5 years away.
Sources: CochraneNow · Rocky View Schools
6. Horse Creek Sports Park
Right beside that future high school, the land for Horse Creek Sports Park has already been graded and serviced. The first stage is planned to include four ball diamonds, washrooms, parking, and connecting pathways. Council still needs to approve the money to build it, and if that happens, construction could start as early as 2027. Picture a whole north end hub with a high school, ball diamonds, and pathways, right beside Heritage Hills and West Hawk.
I helped a young couple buy in West Hawk this year. No kids yet, but they're planning for them, and knowing this park is coming was a big part of why they chose it. They weren't just buying for today. They were buying for the life they're building.
Source: Town of Cochrane
5. Where the new homes are being built
If you're looking at new homes in Cochrane, Alberta, this is where most of them are. Southbow Landing on the south side is the largest, planned for about 3,000 homes and around 7,000 people at full build out, with its first park and playground open, two school sites set aside, and a commercial centre underway at the second entrance. On the north side, West Hawk has some of the best views of any new community in town. Heartland is building out its second half, Greystone keeps filling in, and Rivercrest is getting its new school.
Want a closer look? Read my guides to Southbow Landing, Heartland, and Heritage Hills, or see the best neighbourhoods in Cochrane.
4. The new Rivercrest school
Ground was broken this past August on a new K to 8 school in Rivercrest. It's a $53 million school with room for 905 students, scheduled to open in fall 2028. A school this size doesn't only help the kids who live right beside it. It takes pressure off the schools around it too. If your little one is 3 or 4 right now, there's a good chance this is where they start school. Rivercrest backs onto a huge environmental reserve, so you'll have pathways, nature, and soon a school you can walk to.
Source: Rocky View Schools · Moving with kids? Read Moving to Cochrane with Kids.
3. The James Walker Trail extension
James Walker Trail is being extended to connect Southbow Landing to Highway 22, about two and a half kilometres of new road. Qualico is finishing its stretch this year, and the town's part runs into the 2027 construction season. If you live in Southbow, Riviera, or anywhere in that south end, you won't be funnelled through River Heights Drive with everybody else. It also helps with the one thing some people mention about Riviera: feeling a little tucked away.
Source: Town of Cochrane
2. The Highway 22 bridge
The Highway 22 bridge over the Bow River is a single crossing, and in the afternoon that's where traffic from the south side tends to back up. In April, the province approved funding to design a twinned bridge. Money to build it hasn't been committed yet, so realistically it's a few years out. The good news is that it's officially in motion.
Source: Town of Cochrane
1. The Highway 1A and 22 interchange is done
If you've done any research on living in Cochrane, Alberta, you've probably read about this one. For years, the 1A and 22 intersection was the number one complaint about this town. Well, it's done. After three years of construction, it wrapped up this summer and speed limits went back to normal on July 17th. Highway 1A was widened to four lanes, there are two new bridges over Big Hill Creek, a bigger CP Rail overpass, and new ramps and roundabouts tying it all together. And one detail I love: the overpass carries the Men of Vision emblem.
Getting across town is easier now. And getting into the city is what it's always been for most of us. You grab a coffee, head east, and you're on the west side of Calgary in about half an hour.
Source: Town of Cochrane
The honest part
A town growing this quickly comes with real trade offs, and I want you walking in with your eyes open.
The commuter bus has stopped. The On-It bus between Cochrane and Calgary ended June 1st. The town is looking for a private company to take it over. Until then, plan on driving.
Schools are catching up, not caught up. Rivercrest is 2028 and the new high school is about 3 to 5 years out. Some schools are full and some kids are bussed.
Construction. Buy in a new community and you'll live beside active building for a few years. That's the trade off for getting in early.
Growth. Cochrane counted 37,011 people in 2024, and the town's projections have us approaching 60,000 by 2035. Council approved about $32 million to expand the water treatment plant by 2028, with a second plant planned for about 2033.
Sources: Town of Cochrane, transit · CochraneNow, growth
What this means for you
Families with young kids: schools are the story. Where you buy today can line up with where your kids go to school in a couple of years.
Coming from Calgary: the interchange is the story. The biggest headache in town is fixed, the next one is in design, and Costco is on its way.
Relocating from BC or Ontario: you're not buying into a finished town. You're buying into a town that's still being built, and for a lot of the families I work with, that's exactly what made the move feel exciting. Your next chapter starts in a place that's growing right along with you.
Already own here: new schools, new shopping, and better roads are the things buyers ask me about first. If one of these projects is going in near you, it's worth knowing what it could mean for your home.
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Market figures are CREB® benchmark prices for Cochrane for the month noted, shared for general information only. They are not an appraisal or valuation of any specific property. Prices, schools, and community plans change, so please confirm current details before making decisions. Lauren Crouse, REAL Broker.
