City space crunch could spur downtown’s tallest building
BY GORDON KENT, EDMONTON JOURNAL
EDMONTON - A plan to consolidate civic staff downtown could spur the construction of Edmonton’s largest office tower, a commercial real estate agent says.
The city put out a formal request this week for interested building owners to outline what space they could provide, what it would cost and other details.
It’s looking for an initial 350,000 square feet near City Hall, the equivalent of up to 20 storeys, with the potential to more than double that amount over the course of the lease.
“There is a very strong likelihood that it will be the biggest building that (has) ever been built in this city,” Avison Young principal Cory Wosnack said Thursday.
“The industry is abuzz today … It’s truly a once-in-a-decade opportunity.”
A new tower is needed because there isn’t a single existing building that can provide this much room, even if the later expansion goes somewhere else, he said.
He expects the development would probably be bigger than the 36-storey, 650,000-sq.-foot Manulife Place, Edmonton’s largest tower, with any extra space rented to other tenants.
“This is exciting because you’re going to see a crane in the air.”
Replies must be submitted by Nov. 13.
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