On Thursday afternoon, a 14-metre-long steel girder — no different than the hundreds of beams already in place — officially made the Bow tower the tallest building in Calgary.
The girder is the first link in the steel skeleton that makes up the 55th through 57th floors, extending its skyward reach to 218 metres, beyond the 52 storeys and 215 metres of the Suncor Energy Centre.
“It’s a vertical piece of steel three floors long,” said Michael Brown, associate vice-president with developer Matthews Southwest, in a news conference atop the neighbouring Regis Hotel.
“Anywhere in Calgary you’re going to see that piece of steel standing up there.
“It will be sitting in the centre of the building. The way we approach construction on the Bow is we build up the middle and then we tie in the sides.”
Near the end of September, the Bow is scheduled to “topoff” at 58 storeys and the exterior glass “curtain wall” is to be in place by Christmas.
Brown said Thursday is a key day for the company but there are no plans to celebrate. No Champagne will be uncorked.
“We’ve been working really hard to get to where we are today . . . but our focus continues to be getting that building done on schedule and on budget,” Brown said.
Mayor Dave Bronconnier said he hopes the topping off ceremony is a little delayed, specifically to the Oct. 18 municipal election day in Calgary.
“I can tell you what I’ll be doing on election day: I’ll be having a few libations atop of The Bow that day. That’s the plan,” he said, adding, “I’m hoping it’s Oct. 18. I don’t have to work that day.”
Bronconnier, who is not running for re-election, said he counts The Bow, with its controversial underground parking plans and unpopular closure of 6th Avenue S., as one of the top accomplishments on his watch.
“I think it’s an awesome building,” said Bronconnier. “It’s everything that Encana of the day and the architects sold us in terms of how stunning it would be on the skyline of Calgary.”
The Bow will be the home of energy companies Encana and Cenovus when completed in early 2012. It will have nearly two million square feet of leasable space and will be the tallest office building in the country outside of Toronto.
Brown said the fate of the deferred 10-storey south block has not been determined and won’t be until the current main building is finished.
He added there has been “unbelievable” interest in the retail space on the lower levels of The Bow tower, but the first tenant likely won’t be signed until near the end of the year.
The Bow, situated along Centre Street between 6th and 7th avenues S.E., is owned by H&R REIT.
It is being constructed by Ledcor Construction Ltd. The design architect for the project was internationally renowned Foster + Partners of London.
The Suncor Energy Centre, at 150 6th Ave. S.W., was built in 1983 and has nearly 1.2 million square feet of office space. It is owned by Brookfield Properties.
dhealing@theherald.canwest.com
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