New feature may premiere downtown
Location: Paramount Theatre Producer: Procura Real Estate Services Starring: 40 storeys of offices and condos
Ron Chalmers, The Edmonton Journal
Published: Friday, May 04, 2007
EDMONTON - A 40-storey skyscraper that could be Edmonton's tallest building is planned for the south side of Jasper Avenue, east of 103rd Street, by the same Calgary company that is developing Century Park.
Procura Real Estate Services president George Schluessel said Thursday he plans to demolish the Paramount Theatre and an adjacent two-storey building that houses the Silk Hat Restaurant and Adecco staffing agency.
The new building will have underground parking and street-level retail covering the entire 28,000-square-foot site between the Enbridge Tower and 103rd Street, Schluessel said.
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Font: ****In the tower, "the bottom half would be offices and the top half residential," he said.
Schluessel could not predict the building cost, or prices of the 200 planned condominium units.
"It's far too early to guess," he said.
The exact height of the tower has not been determined, but if Schluessel gets what he hopes for the skyscraper would be four storeys taller than the Manulife Tower, which at 146 metres is Edmonton's tallest building.
Schluessel said he has talked to "various architects" about specific designs.
He expects to name an architect and apply for a development permit within four months, then receive approvals and start building in one year.
Construction of the 400,000-square-foot building will take three years, he said.
"This is very good news," said Larry Benowski, general manager of the city's planning department.
The building would complement the University of Alberta's redevelopment of Enterprise Square across Jasper Avenue, the planned Sobeys grocery store on 104th Street, and the 35-storey Icon condominium tower north of Jasper Avenue on 104th Street, Benowski said.
Approval of the unprecedented height "could be possible," given the 36-storey Manulife Place tower and the planned Icon, said Edmonton Airports spokesman Jim Rudolph.
"Edmonton Airports, Transport Canada and Navigation Canada would have to look at the proposal," and at City Centre Airport flight paths, he said.
If 40 storeys is too high, "we want to target the same square footage," Schluessel said -- "either taller and thinner or lower with a larger footprint."
He does not plan to integrate the Paramount facade into the new structure.
"I did not see any historical importance to what is there," Schluessel said. "I think the downtown needs modern, good quality retail storefronts."
The Paramount is not protected by any historical designation, said Robert Geldart, the city's principal heritage planner -- but "it has been identified as a modern resource and is being reviewed."
The Paramount opened in 1952 as a 1,750-seat movie theatre. For many years, it was the site of then premier Ernest Manning's Back to the Bible Hour Sunday morning radio show.
Recently, it has been used for music concerts, religious services and a book-launch.
The International-style building, clad in Tyndall stone with travertine and marble accents, "should be preserved and protected," Geldart said.
If the Paramount receives a historical designation, then Procura would need city council approval to demolish it, Benowski said.
Jim Taylor, executive director of the Downtown Business Association, said he was "surprised and very pleased" by Procura's plan.
"A 40-storey building on that site would transform our downtown," he said. "Psychologically, the business community needs to see office space being built after so much residential has come downtown. Visually, it would change the look of Jasper Avenue."
Schluessel said he is confident the planned office space could be leased because the city's "financial core is running at one- or two-per-cent vacancy."
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Font: ****Possible tenants could include professional offices, financial institutions or even the U of A, he said. "We would welcome them if they had expansion goals."
How certain is he the tower will be built?
"You can probably spend $1 million on pre-design and pre-marketing, so you must have that level of confidence," Schluessel said.
After receiving a development permit, "the final test will be pre-leasing of office space and pre-selling of the condos," he said.
Edmonton's condo market "is getting stronger and stronger," he said. "I am confident that it will trigger the building."
Procura is also spending $70 million to redevelop the Professional Building at 108th Street and Jasper Avenue. Schluessel said he hopes both buildings will qualify for gold-level LEED certification, denoting leadership in energy and environmental design.
In Procura's Century Park condominium project, at the former Heritage Mall site at 23rd Avenue and 111th Street, the 184-unit Phase One sold out in one September day after 100 buyers lined up overnight.
Phase Two has been selling since November.
rchalmers@thejournal.canwest.com
EDMONTON HIGH-LIGHTS
Buildings completed as of May, 2006
Rank Building Address Height in metres Storeys Completed
1 Manulife Place 10180 101st St. 146 36 1983
2 Telus Plaza South 10020 100th St. 134 34 1971
3 Bell Tower 10104 103rd Ave. 130 31 1982
4 Commerce Place 10155 102nd St. 123 27 1990
5 Edmonton House Suite Hotel 10205 100th Av. 121 45 1971
6 Canadian Western Bank Place 10303 Jasper Ave. 121 31 1980
7 Oxford Tower 10235 101st St. 118 29 1978
8 TD Tower, Edmonton 10088 102nd Ave. 117 29 1976
9 Scotia Place - 1, Edmonton 10060 Jasper Ave. 113 28 1982
10 CN Tower, Edmonton 10004 104th Ave. 111 26 1966
Source: Wikipedia
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