Downtown Calgary could get worse before it gets better
While many are worried about the 12 million square feet of empty office spaces in the downtown, there are several other downtown buildings that have been abandoned without as much fanfare and there could be more major buildings being abandoned in the next few years. While I want to stay optimistic and not give up on downtown, but we have to face reality.
Downtown’s inability to capture the interest of Calgarians in large numbers as their “urban playground” has been in decline for decades. What’s needed now is a bold masterplan that unites the Downtown Commercial Core, Eau Claire, Chinatown, East Village and Downtown West into ONE integrated urban community, NOT five fragmented ones.
Here are some of the abandoned non-office buildings in downtown Calgary that illustrate downtown’s decline over the past 10+ years is more than just office towers.
Courthouse #2 / Court Of Appeal Building (empty since 2008)
The historic Courthouse #2 which opened in 1914 served as the Court Of Appeal building until made redundant with the opening of the Calgary Courts Centre in 2008. Today, it sits empty in a prime location in the middle of the Harley Hotchkiss Gardens and next to the 4th Street LRT Station.
However the Province has just announce plans to build a new building behind this building for a new Court Of Appeal with $57 million allotted in the 2021 budget.
Their rationale for a new purpose-built building is because of the special security requirements.
Ironically the exiting Court of Appeals is located in a modern office building. I expect they want to consolidate all of Calgary’s courthouses close proximity, the new Calgary Court Centre, to achieve some operational efficiencies.
Calgary is good at building new buildings, we are not good at repurposing buildings. FYI. We have 12 million square feet of empty office space.
Calgary Board Of Education Building (empty since 2011)
The Board of Education building on Macleod Trail between 5th and 6th Ave SE has been empty since 2011, when the Board moved their offices to the Beltline.
The entire block was purchased by a private developer with plans for a mixed office and residential development which has not happened due to the economic downturn.
Footnote: The building was part of a 1960’s failed Brutalist architectural themed revitalization plan that included the original Bow Valley College, YWCA building, Workers and Compensation Building, W.R. Castell Library and Rocky Mountain Court Apartments tower.
Royal Canadian Pacific Entry Pavilion (empty since 2015)
In 2000, the Royal Canadian Pacific Entry Pavilion opened on top of the 2nd Street SW Underpass to house CPR’s collection of vintage railway cars on the CPRs main line next to the Palliser Hotel and its corporate headquarters in Gulf Canada Square.
It also served as a unique train station for luxury train tours and an event centre. It was a link to Calgary’s past as well as the city’s future as a budding summer international tourist destination. By 2015 it had closed and has been for sale ever since.
FYI: CPR also moved its corporate head office from downtown to Ogden Yards in 2012.
Greyhound Bus Terminal (empty since 2018)
In 2018, Greyhound announced it was ending its bus service in western Canada as a result, Calgary’s Greyhound Terminal at the western edge of downtown closed and has remained closed since (except for some temporary use as a film studio).
At this point, there are no plans for repurposing the building or the redevelopment of the area that sits on contaminated soil.
Clarence Block (empty since 2019)
In 2008, McNally Robinson, Canada’s largest independent bookstore announced it was closing its Calgary store in the historic Clarence Block (1901) as it had sold the building to a land-investment company.
Co-owner Paul McNally was quoted by CBC as saying he “blamed the closure on the costs of real estate in the downtown core, as well as high labour expenses in Alberta's boom. The value of the real estate over-reaches the potential of the bookselling business. In an average cost structure, the store would be viable and profitable. In downtown Calgary, not so much." He also noted “the store and its restaurant did well during weekday lunch hours, but business was comparatively quiet the rest of the week.”
SportChek, which opened in the space the next year, but they never really promoted it as a flagship store and it died a slow death, closing in January 2019. It has been empty ever since.
WR Castell Library (empty since 2019)
When the decision was made to more the Calgary’s Central Library to a new site back in 2012, the City should have immediately begun to study how to repurpose the old central library. Perhaps it could have conducted an expression of interest from the private sector - a boutique hotel, mix of affordable and market housing, a downtown post-secondary campus, an innovation incubator for tech start-ups or a farmers’ market? Could have Platform been located there, rather than a new building a few blocks away in East Village.
The City could have demonstrated some leadership in how to repurpose buildings. Instead it sits mostly empty, with the University of Calgary’s School of Architecture occupying some of the main floor. Calgary Municipal Land Corporation I believe is studying possible uses.
It is in a great location with the LRT station outside its front door and in the middle of the Olympic Plaza Cultural District. Its biggest drawback is that it has no parking.
The City just this month decided to put the site up for sale along with the former police arrest processing facility to the east. The City has assessed the valued of the site at $22.4M
Eau Claire YMCA (empty soon)
Most recently, the Eau Claire YMCA closed as a result of decline in membership, poor access to transit, high weekly parking rates and an aging building. The adjacent Eau Claire Market has been dying a slow death for the past 20 years. While not empty, it is definitely underutilized.
Footnote: The early ‘90s Eau Claire revitalization initiative flourished for a few years. A new hotel, several new office buildings and 1,500+ new condos were built by the private sector nearby. The City contributed by upgrades to Prince’s Island Park, expanding and improving the Bow River promenade and building the new West Eau Claire Park. Yet, the Market and Plaza have failed to become the urban playground politicians and planners had hoped for.
Who is next?
Could the historic Bay department store on Stephen Avenue be next? The downtown Edmonton and Winnipeg Bay stores have already closed. I really hope not.
What about the Calgary Telus Convention Centre (CTCC)? The huge expansion of the BMO Centre at Stampede Park will make it the second largest facility of its kind in Canada, (second only to the Toronto Convention Centre).
Will this make the downtown convention centre redundant?
It doesn’t make sense for a winter city like Calgary, far from North America’s major population clusters (East Coast, West Coast, Great Lakes, Gulf of Mexico) to have two convention centers. Is it only a matter of time before CTCC’s Board tells the City it is no longer viable?
Will our downtown Winners close its Stephen Avenue store once its new store opens in East Village? Will Lammle’s Western Wear relocate to 4th St SE as part of the Stampede Park revitalization? And with the Palace Theatre struggling for decades to find its niche in today’s entertainment scene, what will become of it? It should be Calgary’s equivalent to the Ryman Theatre in downtown Nashville, but it isn’t.
Last Word
We must create a new downtown with a more balanced, “work, live, learn, arts and entertainment” building ratio that will be more sustainable. We can’t depend on tourists, the city-at-large, or even the neighbouring communities (Beltline, Bridgeland, Hillhurst, Sunalta or Sunnyside) to support its day-to-day vitality anymore. Case in point: East Village is being developed not to support its neighbours to the west, but to connect with Stampede Park to its south.
We need a plan that is more than just filling up the empty office towers or redesigning Stephen Avenue, Eau Claire and Chinatown. And unfortunately even with a plan, it will take decades to transform Calgary’s downtown from an office tower-centric neighbourhood, to one that is more diversified.
But the sooner we get started, the better!
If you like this blog, you will like these links:
CBC: Fixing Calgary’s downtown ghost town
Every Downtown Has Its Heyday!
It is not the City’s role to help fill downtown office space?