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A 2.8-acre East Village site, previously occupied by the Calgary Police Association, is about to be transformed into a new residential and retail landmark. RioCan and Embassy BOSA broke ground on their Fifth and Third project — also known as 428 Sixth Avenue — back in April, and heavy machinery has been spotted moving around the property. RioCan will own the retail component of the site, with Embassy BOSA reserving the air rights to develop a two-tower residential project dubbed Arris.
Canadian grocer Loblaws will occupy 82,000 square feet of the nearly 190,000 square feet of retail space being provided in the base of the development. A Shoppers Drug Mart and Olympia Liquor store have also been pegged as tenants to be housed within the Gibbs Gage-designed structure. The retail vacancy rate in Calgary dipped below 2.5 percent in late 2015, marking a record low that has prompted RioCan to get started on their latest commercial venture.
Amanat Architect has been tapped as the designer of the residential portion, which will contain approximately 500 units spread across 41- and 24-storey towers. Uninterrupted planes of glass continue beyond the roofline, creating seemingly free-floating fins on all sides. Though the retail portion is underway, no firm construction date on the towers has yet been set.
An excavator on the site indicates digging will kick into high gear soon, as another underused East Village lot is gobbled up. The Calgary Municipal Land Corporation has helped transform the neighbourhood from a no man's land littered with dilapidated buildings into a modern mixed-use district that is deepening its connection to downtown.
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| Related Companies: | RioCan REIT |
