The 35-foot-deep hole in the ground just north and east of the current Scotiabank Saddledome was a hive of activity on the morning of April 14.
It’s there where the Scotia Place project team showed off the progress they’ve been making with excavation wrapping up and foundation work beginning. The City of Calgary and CANA Construction provided local media access to the site on Monday.
Bob Hunter with the Scotia Place project team said that this latest milestone means that, thus far, the project is on time and on budget, something he told the final meeting of the Calgary city council’s Event Centre Committee last week.
“It’s part of a larger vision for our downtown, one that includes a vibrant Culture and Entertainment District where 8,000 Calgarians will eventually live, and thousands more will visit to experience the energy and atmosphere this new destination will offer,” he said.
“We’re building a place for connection, for celebration and for community, one designed to serve our generation for time to come.”
The sub-surface work will consist of back-of-house areas like team dressing rooms and food facilities, along with the base foundation for the ice-surface. That will allow the concourse to be at street level. Underground columns, elevator cores and access ramps will be built, and mechanical, electrical and plumbing work will be done.
While they did hit some hiccups with the weather over winter, Hunter said that even with a potentially wet spring in Calgary, they’re prepared to manage any weather-related issues.
“I’ll only answer by saying construction can be complex. We’ve had good weather so far,” Hunter said.
“It was a bit of a tough part of the winter. But I would say there are a number of factors and variables, but they all seem to be manageable.”
Watchful eye on tariffs, and be prepared for road closures
Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek said last week that any potential tariff-related cost overruns would be sorted out if there are issues. She said there’s a clear contract that covers cost overruns.
“If we come to that point in time, and we have to look at overruns, we certainly will, but the job right now is to stay focused on delivering this project on time and on budget and figuring out the ways that we don’t let tariffs impact the cost of this,” the mayor said.
Hunter said they continue to keep a watchful eye on the impact of tariffs and have taken steps already to mitigate potential cost increases. They’ve already purchased steel from Europe and contracted many services locally. Hunter said they’re also looking at ways to prevent suppliers from having to route products through their US-based companies.
With work expected to be ongoing for two more years, Calgarians who frequent the area will have to put up with some disruptions. Hunter said there will be road and sidewalk closures and detours in the area.
“What we do is work with the Calgary Sports and Entertainment (Corporation). We work with CMLC and Stampede at the BMO Center. We work with any of the other neighbouring entities that operate to try and mitigate those, how would I say, those problems that we create ourselves,” he said.
“But without a doubt, there will be road closures and that’s going to be a regular occurrence for the next couple of years.”
Hunter acknowledged they’ve “put a big dent” in the Calgary Stampede’s space, with the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth a little under three months away. They’re working with Stampede officials to map out entrance areas and keep a smooth flow of traffic for visitors. Hunter said they will be modifying work at the site during the 10 days in July.
“We’ll be able to do some work very early in the morning or very late at night, but it’s really just modify the schedule,” he said.
The next milestone is to begin above-grade construction, Hunter said. That’s expected to happen late this year. It’s when Calgarians will start to see the new building take its place in Calgary’s skyline.
“We’re very excited to see so place take shape and look forward to welcoming Calgarians on opening day,” Hunter said.
