Atticus said:
I can't argue with that, we have an overabundance of office space in the core relative to residential. By core I mean the commercial core. Having Telus Sky be mixed use and converting the Barron building will help offset that a bit, but it's a long ways away before we see a decent balance of res/office
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I think there will have to be a paradigm shift of people, landlords and planners to really start thinking the commercial core should be better balanced. It's asking Calgary's core to do something it hasn't done in generations; become truly mixed use. Endless over-supply of traditional office, the rise of mixed-use thinking and shifting perspectives on urban life are all helping of course, but it's a decades long project to balance - as well as working out all the unanticipated repercussions of what that truly means from a policy, service, design and lifestyle perspectives.

Mind you, it was a decades long project to create such a monolithic, office-dominated core in the first place so reversing this will naturally take time - even to move the needle from "completely office-dominated" to "mostly office-dominated".
 
I love the potential of this conversion. The financials won't make sense to convert the large floor plate Class AA/A office buildings, but there's still a decent amount of class B/C that will likely be converted over time. Especially if they run the risk of very limited occupancy over large periods of times. I'd like to think this nearby building is a good candidate. Refit the interior plus new loft style windows, and you have yourself some quality residential in a prime location.
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MichaelS said:
Why stop at Century Gardens? The West Village Towers will provide a great anchor of critical mass on the west side, carry the high street through to the Downtown West End! As well, the Mewata Armoury provides a great terminus view (much better than the Municipal Building in my opinion).
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Yes! From City Hall to Mewata. The parkade access issues would be fairly easy to work around, as others have mentioned. It could be a great opportunity for the blocks West of 8th street to develop into something vibrant and pedestrian friendly.

Why not go the distance? Extend Stephen Ave to Mewata. Limit vehicle access to emergency/event situations. Run your bike lanes straight down the centre with pedestrians on the outside. This is a fantasy...but could it work?
 
Danpersand said:
Run your bike lanes straight down the centre with pedestrians on the outside. This is a fantasy...but could it work?
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As a cyclist I hate having to use Stephen Ave, there are far too many pedestrians moving in far too unpredictable of a way to be able to move at any kind of speed. Cycling as a commuting option needs to be considered, and having to go pedestrian speed defeats the point. I want to go 30-40km/h on my bike, that makes commuting that way worth it, if I have to be mixed in with pedestrians then I might as well just walk.
 
Mountain Man said:
As a cyclist I hate having to use Stephen Ave, there are far too many pedestrians moving in far too unpredictable of a way to be able to move at any kind of speed. Cycling as a commuting option needs to be considered, and having to go pedestrian speed defeats the point. I want to go 30-40km/h on my bike, that makes commuting that way worth it, if I have to be mixed in with pedestrians then I might as well just walk.
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9th ave or 5th ave is is a more ideal candidate for a cycle track than 8th ave.
 
From this past weekend. Lots of work done since the last update!

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