The city government is looking at ways to further boost the region's liveability
Calgary is converting an increasing number of its empty offices into housing through its Downtown Calgary Development Incentive Program.
The United Place and Canadian Centre projects are the latest in this drive, a strategy that government officials said will help boost the city’s liveability.
“The Downtown Calgary Incentive Program is a critical part of our revitalization strategy,” said Mayor Jyoti Gondek. “These two additional office-to-residential projects will create much needed homes and amenities, which are key components to attract more people into our inner city communities.”
The United Place development is located at 808 Fourth Avenue S.W., and will see approximately 88,000 square feet of office space converted into 81 homes. The Canadian Centre project is located at 833 Fourth Avenue S.W., and will involve the conversion of around 163,000 square feet of office space into 225 new homes.
Read more: Calgary’s office vacancy rate increases in Q3
Councillor Terry Wong stressed that these conversions are necessary to “bring new life back” to vacant and underutilized structures.
“Added vibrancy in the west end of our downtown, an area that has considerable vacancy and that is traditionally dominated by office buildings, goes a long way in making Calgary safer for everyone at all hours of the day and enables our local businesses to thrive within complete communities,” Wong said.
Despite Canada’s commercial segment remaining an evergreen investment vehicle on the whole, the office asset class has been among the hardest hit by the pandemic. The national downtown office vacancy rate reached nearly 17% in the second quarter, with the rate being only slightly lower at 16% in suburban markets.
