Three new residential developments are underway as the doors open on Calgary’s second completed office-to-residential conversion in the downtown.
The projects, officially announced during a news conference Monday morning at Cidex Development’s The HAT at Eau Claire Place (525 – 3 Avenue SW), are expected to bring more than 1,100 new units to Calgary’s downtown west neighbourhood.
The buildings are all a part of the City of Calgary’s Downtown Incentive Program, which the City of Calgary said has taken a $20 million investment and turned it into $350 million in private investment, along with transforming otherwise vacant downtown offices into homes.
“Today, we are gathering to celebrate the rebirth of Fourth and Fifth Street, a part of our downtown that’s undergoing a dramatic shift, reflecting Calgary’s evolution into a dynamic, forward-thinking city that is deservedly so, earning recognition on the world stage,” said Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek.
“These investments matter because they build up our tax base, and when we build up our tax base, it allows for follow on investments and quality of life for Calgarians, because we have a strong tax base, we are able to invest in public safety, in roads and in recreation and all the services that the city provides.”
Three new residential developments were announced: Cidex is developing a 234-unit building at 425 – 5 Street SW, and Cantiro Developments is building the 4th Avenue Tower (410 – 6 Street SW) a 30-storey mixed-use tower with 10,000 square feet of commercial space, along with 315 premium rentals. They also have a property at 526 – 4 Avenue SW, which is a 268-unit mixed use residential tower.
The HAT at Eau Claire is a redeveloped seven-storey building that’s adding 87 new rental units to the downtown mix. Eau Claire Residences, a conversion done by Pacific Reach, will bring 195 units, a rooftop patio, modern gym and connection to the Plus 15 network.
The latter two conversions will have residents moving in later this year.
‘Precious to be here in celebration’: Cidex VP Itani
Sarah Itani, VP of Development with Cidex, said there’s a lot of excitement around the delivery of their new office-to-residential conversion.
“I think now more than ever, in a news cycle, in a world that’s populated by polarizing and exhausting and taxing headlines, it’s especially precious to be here in celebration today,” Itani said.
Itani said that the downtown is the heart line of any city. She said watching the City, industry and community come together to come up with creative solutions to downtown Calgary woes is something to be proud of.
“It is easy to be a proud Calgarian most days, and it is a joy to be able to celebrate those collaborations on a day like today,” she said.
Paul Fereday, executive vice president with Cantiro Multi Family, said that they begin construction on their project later this year. The hope is to have the project complete by late 2027.
“There’s so many great things just in the surrounding area, with the River Walk, and obviously Eau Claire, and just all the commercial spaces and just providing residents a spot to be near their work, near the CTrain as they as they go about their day,” he said.
“It’s really important for us to have that mixed-use development as well. Where you are bringing area amenities. It’s not just for the buildings, for all the residents that currently live in the area, and all the commercial and office users in the area as well. So, really fostering that vibrant urban core.”
Brayden Sander with Pacific Reach they were thrilled to a part of the latest collaboration with the City of Calgary.
“At a time when housing challenges are top of mind across the entire country, we firmly believe that working with the housing sector and not against it, is key to finding sustainable, long-term solutions that work for everybody,” he said.
“Rather than viewing redevelopment as a challenge, we see it as an opportunity, an opportunity to breathe new life into the city, to enhance accessibility and to deliver high quality and magnetized rental units to Calgarians.”
Conversions have been success stories: Mahler
Thom Mahler, Director of Downtown Strategy with the City of Calgary, said that while he can’t specifically say how some of these repurposed properties would have aged, the conversion program presented an opportunity to turn the buildings into long-term assets.
“For us, it was an opportunity to turn a building that we were looking to maybe exit, a building that we weren’t excited about, and turn it around and make it an exciting success story,” he said.
Mahler said that as these units get occupied, there will be a need for additional retail and other services. They’re already seeing some strength in the retail environment. Plus, there are five more conversion projects in the pipeline.
Calgary Downtown Association executive director Mark Garner said that these new buildings show that it’s a great time to invest in Calgary. He called it a bull market on Calgary’s downtown.
“These projects are integral to the cultural diversity, providing housing and really focusing downtown to be the place to be, but also supporting the employment cluster and the confidence that you’re seeing in the reduction of vacancy rate in the commercial space,” Garner said.
Mayor Gondek said that it was an incredible moment when they approved the downtown strategy back in 2021.
“This is absolutely a good news story. If we hadn’t started this four years ago, we would be far behind where we need to be right now,” she said.
