JonnyCanuck
Senior Member
Too much of the empty space is in newer A level office buildings that will never be converted to residential.
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O-tac
Active Member
I mentioned this in the General Construction thread, but I have a client who is converting an office on 4th Ave into a hotel.
MichaelS
Senior Member
Well, whether they sold the building or not, the conversion of Sierra Place to residential seems to be back on:
JonnyCanuck
Senior Member
The work on this building is actually out for tender again.
JonnyCanuck
Senior Member
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Office-building conversions offer ray of hope in downtown Calgary
Adaptive reuse is far from simple, but one developer hopes to have his new Westley Hotel open soon in the old Birchcliff Energy building
www.theglobeandmail.com
I did not know this but 4 floors of the Westview Heights building contained commercial office space. The owner has decided to convert that space to apartments which will make it entirely residential with retail on the ground floor. Note the comment about the rental market 'has softened'.
An interesting read for sure. Also interesting is the UofC's report on conversions
Chinook Arch
Active Member
It would be great if some of the older, but larger buildings could be converted in residential, buildings like Bow Valley Square or Calgary Place for example. I would support a government initiative as a pilot project to convert one of the larger buildings. It might not be economically feasible, but if the project was subsidized at would at least give the concept some traction, and some learning can come out of the process.
MissingMiddle
Active Member
Edmonton is providing $22.9M in property tax breaks for some high-density urban developments using surplus Covid aid (which would have no use and be lost otherwise).
It'd be interesting to see if something similar for office conversions would work.
It'd be interesting to see if something similar for office conversions would work.
I would be on board with some government support for a conversion project. Even it it was limited to one building, I think it would be a worthwhile project. Also maybe it could be three levels of Government.
adamyyc
Active Member
Calgary’s East Village: Lessons and hope for our struggling Downtown core
I remember stepping over puddles of blood as I walked through East Village to City Hall nearly two decades ago. Blood, needles, and vomit…
druhfarrell.medium.com
JonnyCanuck
Senior Member
A lot of work, creativity and investment has gone into East Village and there are some great achievements there. Druh speaks it as if it were a finished product. Of course it is not. There are blocks in the center that are still empty or unfinished. It would be nice to get it completed in the medium term before the focus turns to the rest of downtown.Calgary’s East Village: Lessons and hope for our struggling Downtown core
I remember stepping over puddles of blood as I walked through East Village to City Hall nearly two decades ago. Blood, needles, and vomit…
Interesting she says in the article that she is not running for council again this year. I had not heard that.
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Yeah, this is her last hurrah.
In some way EV is completed, in the sense that the framework for the neighborhood is done. The city accomplished a couple of things. They completed a solid developed riverfront along the length of east village, that is mostly adjacent to developed properties, and they have increased the resident base for the area.
I agree that the other lots still need to be developed before it feels complete. Even if a couple of the empty lots in the open central area get developed it will go a long way. I suspect they will eventually, it's just a matter of time, but yeah, not there quite yet.
Urban Outdoorsman
Active Member
Too bad to hear abou Ferrell not running again. She always seemed to be the only one on council really championing the inner city and the need to density.
ByeByeBaby
Active Member
Of course East Village isn't a finished product; Kensington isn't a finished product. Marda Loop isn't a finished product. Inglewood isn't a finished product. Hell, Londinium was established 1,974 years ago and London's still not a finished product. No city is or will ever be.
Where East Village is now is over the hump. There's all of the required infrastructure; there's a mix of residential uses of all types; there's a lot of public space and public amenities; there's at least the start of enough retail and services to be self-sustaining. It used to be a place you would never live because there's no restaurants, and would never open a restaurant in because there's no clientele. It's not 17th Ave, but there's a few options there now. I feel confident that it'll happen in time now, assuming that inner city highrises continue to be built. That wasn't the case 15 or 20 years ago, since the area had been languishing for decades already with no change at that point.
I don't know what "attention" could reasonably be spent there beyond what's already there; would a councillor saying "hey, you should develop this parcel" be the thing pushing a developer that had no plans otherwise? How much attention has council put into Bridgeland in the last 5 years? The remaining lots are developing beautifully.
The downtown does need that attention, if office redevelopment is going to be a thing. There are land use and other bylaw changes that might need to be made, for example.
Her, Woolley, and Gian Carlo Carra were generally the champions of the inner city, though Farrell was the first councilor in Calgary that I can remember that really championed the inner city.