The city of Calgary is taking steps to address the issue of empty downtown office spaces by offering incentives to building owners to convert them into residential developments.
Five buildings have been approved for this conversion, including the Taylor Building, the Petrofina Building, Eau Claire Place 1, Eau Claire Place 2, and The Loft. The city is offering a total of $36.3 million in incentives to the building owners.
This initiative is expected to remove nearly 46,452 m2 (500,000 sf) of empty or underused building space from the market, while also creating 530 new residential units. With a number of other conversions set to be announced soon, Mayor Jyoti Gondek said almost 185,806 m2 (2 million sf) of office space will be replaced by residential developments. This could potentially help to revitalize the downtown area and bring new residents into Calgary.
It remains to be seen if the initiative will be successful in encouraging building owners to convert their properties. However, it could also have wider implications for other cities facing similar challenges with empty office spaces.
Calgary’s office-to-residential program is gaining traction, with five more projects already slated for conversion. Mayor Gondek reported the city’s incentives for 10 buildings so far at around $86 million, and this sum has leveraged almost $190 million in private investment. The city has set aside $153 million for the program, but with several more conversion projects to be announced soon, there are concerns the funding may be exhausted.
The director of downtown strategy, Thom Mahler, says the city is seeking additional funding from the provincial and federal governments to sustain the program. There is hope its success, seen as interest from the market, will encourage other governments to invest.
The companies that own the buildings are also supportive of the city’s program. Maxim Olshevsky, managing director for Peoplefirst Developments (owner of Petrofina Building), says it is an example of creative thinking that makes these projects viable. Olshevsky also praised the city for being at the forefront of the transformation taking place in many Western cities and their downtown areas.
As the buildings are converted and the downtown population increases, the city plans to provide more amenities and improvements to the public realm. Projects such as updating Stephen Avenue and improving public areas along Eighth Street Southwest are already under development. Mayor Gondek has emphasized the city will continue to invest in making downtown Calgary a vibrant, livable area that offers both commercial and residential sectors.
