Confidence in Edmonton’s core continues to be strong despite concerns by some there’s not enough demand for office space.
HSBC Bank Place on 101 Street is the latest office tower in downtown to have a major renovation project announced.
It will be completely rebuilt, turning it from an ‘A’ to a ‘AA’ classification.
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The primary tenant was the City of Edmonton, but a couple years ago the city moved to the Edmonton Tower, which left the building largely vacant.
It was sold to AIMCO — a privately run, arms-length corporation that works on behalf of Alberta Pensions, looking to make returns for them.
AIMCO purchased the building without a lead tenant, which shows the confidence the company has in the marketplace.
“Like nothing Edmonton has seen before. It’s kind of a first-of-its-kind building, is what we’re calling it,” CBRE senior vice-president Al Menon said.
“There’s a real mind to technology, to health and wellness, all of the modern elements of space that tenants and staff are looking for, so it was a surprise in virtue of its magnitude and the thought and detail that’s been put into and the design, but we feel there’s a market for it because there’s nothing else like it.”
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According to CBRE, in the second quarter of this year, more than 260,000-square-feet of office space was leased in the city, which the firm said is the best three months of leasing activity in the last 20 years.
The HSBC Bank Place renovation project is underway and the work is scheduled to be complete by 2019.
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