Inaugural downtown Calgary office-to-residential project called an instant success

One of Calgary’s first office-to-residential projects, located on the west end of the downtown core, is being hailed a success.

Announced in the spring of 2022, the project was one of three set to receive about $31 million when the conversions were concluded.

The Cornerstone (909 5 Avenue Southwest) in downtown Calgary is at 70 per cent capacity and has undergone a remarkable transformation in under three years says Heather Weir, vice president of Astra Group and chief financial officer of Peoplefirst Developments.

“When we looked at this building in the fall of 2021, streets were virtually empty and dusty old office furniture.

“This building was mostly vacant for almost a decade.”

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Now it’s home to 112 two- and three-bedroom units, as well as retail and offices on the main floor and a second story dedicated to small office space for entrepreneurs in the beauty industry, Weir said.

“It not only helps residents, because they can live and work in this building, but independent small businesses. We offer lease flexibility, which makes it easy for them to right-size their businesses and grow.”

The developers also announced its second project under the City of Calgary’s Downtown Calgary Development Incentive Program.

The program provide grants to building owners who might want to convert their empty office spaces into mixed-use spaces for residential, retail, entertainment, schools, hotels and performing art spaces.

The grants, ranging from $10 million to $15 million, will help streamline the approval process for larger projects by removing the need for council approval.

The heritage Petro Fina building (708 8 Avenue Southwest) is officially under construction with 104 units on the market by the end of 2025.

A third project was also announced — Place 800 on 6 Avenue Southwest — with 204 units. All three buildings will have an affordable living component to ease a growing Calgary crisis, said Logan Smith, chief marketing officer of Astra Group.

“We do have affordability built into each of our projects. That’s approximately 40 per cent of units offered at approximately 20 per cent below market rate.”

Mark Garner, executive director of Calgary Downtown Association, said the developers have been the poster child of conversion projects in the downtown core.

“The strength of this program is allowing other retail space or other business space within the building,” Garner said.

“It makes amenities for other organizations to move in, because it’s not just about residential — it’s about retail and the amenities that are needed in the downtown as well.”