Washington Post applauds Calgary’s downtown revitalization plan

Calgary’s plan to revitalize and convert empty downtown office space into apartments is being commended for innovation by the Washington Post.

Calgary’s Greater Downtown Plan: Roadmap to Reinvention was approved by city council in April 2021, and is estimated to require a total investment of around $1 billion.

The Washington Post opinion piece, credited to the newspaper’s editorial board, is titled “The model city for transforming downtowns? It’s in Canada.”

“One transformed building already has residents living in it and is made up entirely of affordable housing. Eleven other office conversions are underway with one set to open later this year,” the Post reports.

2:11 Five more downtown Calgary office towers to be converted to residential homes

The city says the Downtown Calgary Development Incentive Program’s 10 projects and two additional city-supported projects will remove 1.35 million square feet of empty office space from the market and create 1,420 homes. The program includes repurposing projects for residential units, hotels, schools and performing arts spaces.

“We have an amazing community of city builders downtown that do not shy away from a challenge,” said Thom Mahler, director of the downtown strategy.

The Washington post article compared Calgary’s downtown decline to the plight of the once vibrant Detroit saying “At City Hall, staff calculated the value of downtown commercial buildings had nosedived from nearly 25 billion Canadian dollars in 2015 to about 9 billion Canadian dollars in 2021.”

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In April, the city announced five new projects that will provide housing to more than 1,000 Calgarians and eliminate nearly 500,000 square feet of empty office space. When construction is finished these five new projects will receive a combined $36.3 million from the program.

The flattering Washington Post article says Calgary’s reinvention plans should be mirrored by other cities plagued with empty office towers and a shortage of housing.

2:15 Calgary city council approves $200M for downtown plan

In addition to the new housing the city also promised investments to improve public spaces and amenities. The city says the goal of the revitalization of Calgary’s downtown is to eliminate six million square feet of office space by 2031. The program is accepting applications from downtown building owners who would like to convert empty office space to other uses.