Last bit of info,, one of my colleagues contacted the file manager regarding public engagement. There was a number of items in the response but the main item:
  • The applicant is not currently proposing any engagement as part of the development permit.
 
Well I think that says it all. If Triovest truly thought they had a world class project that would dramatically improve Calgary's downtown, I would think they would be excited to engage Calgarians about it because they would feel the project would easily stand on its own merits. The fact that they have done seemingly everything in their power to avoid public engagement and that the planning department and Council seems content to enable it (DP signs on Stephen Ave anyone?) says to me the fix is in and Triovest is hoping to sneak a project they know to be subpar across the finish line. Fingers crossed Suncor's current troubles ices this project for us because I have little faith the City or Council will have the guts to do it.
 
outoftheice said:
Well I think that says it all. If Triovest truly thought they had a world class project that would dramatically improve Calgary's downtown, I would think they would be excited to engage Calgarians about it because they would feel the project would easily stand on its own merits. The fact that they have done seemingly everything in their power to avoid public engagement and that the planning department and Council seems content to enable it (DP signs on Stephen Ave anyone?) says to me the fix is in and Triovest is hoping to sneak a project they know to be subpar across the finish line. Fingers crossed Suncor's current troubles ices this project for us because I have little faith the City or Council will have the guts to do it.
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Or what's more likely is that they knew the office commitment was in jeopardy and wanted to avoid additional spending on a project going nowhere.

Elliott went public with their position in Suncor in late April and this DP became public early may. Anyone could forecast that an activist investor unhappy with the performance of the company would not take kindly to them building (leasing) a flashy new building when there's 12 million SF of vacant space to choose from.
 
Also, there's no way a developer would be pitching a new office tower unless there was a confirmed big fish tenant like Suncor. Without that tenant there's zero reason to build it. The impression one gets from the full buildout timeline of 15 years is that the office was the primary objective with the other two towers being later additions. The rushed nature also implies a timeline that would coincide with a tenant whose lease expires at a set date. I also don't see any tech startup wanting an office like this when there are countless shells of buildings that they could occupy already. Isn't their style usually to repurpose older spaces? Beyond downtown there are millions of sf of vacant light industrial space being built or sitting empty. This whole proposal feels straight out of the 80's which is perfectly in line with an O&G company like Suncor.
 
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Agree with O-Tac. Given the amount of office space in this project, it would definitely be one of the bigger players. Cenovus is into Brookfield long term, Ovintiv is long term for The Bow, and I doubt Imperial would leave QP. Shell has been downsizing in Canada. Not sure where TC or CNRL sit, but after those two there aren't really any big players left who would be looking for a new office build of this size.
 
Call me ill informed but why would Suncor be getting a new building when they have the "Petro-Canada Buildings"?
 
wolvie said:
Call me ill informed but why would Suncor be getting a new building when they have the "Petro-Canada Buildings"?
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From what I remember hearing it was something like they were in a dispute with Brookfield about Lease rates or wanted bigger floorplates? All rumours but where there's smoke there's usually fire. I have no idea why they would choose to leave their signature office building which was Calgary's most prominent for decades for a stubby cube that would destroy our only real DT vibrancy. Then again, it's an underachieving oil company with excessive employee deaths that is in a dispute with an activist investor so who knows.
 
My gut feeling is that this proposal is dying on the vine. Perhaps that's why council has been so quiet about it. Why open yourself up to attack by rejecting it when it will simply go away on its own? Maybe that's being overly optimistic but something seems off. At first I thought a secret agreement was brewing, but now I think it's a whole lot of nothing going on.
 
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