Edmonton Downtown Business Association report touts benefits of refurbishing old highrises
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Edmonton’s vacant office towers could be turned into residential space, hotels or even multi-floor gardens, a new report suggests.
“Instead of breaking buildings down and doing major renovations, it’s easier to have temporary, environmentally friendly, low-cost conversions that you can always change a few years down the line,” said the report’s author, Satish Narayanan.
His report released Thursday by the Downtown Business Association highlighted seven towers around the world that have been successfully revamped after sitting vacant for more than five years. Approaches included turning office space into university housing, retail space and multi-generational dorm-style living. In Japan, a recruitment company incorporated an urban farm into its building, growing vegetables, fruit and rice.
Edmonton’s business community should assume that buildings will serve multiple uses during the next decade, Narayanan said, adding that conversions will fail if the needs of the city aren’t carefully evaluated.
http://edmontonjournal.com/business/comm...s-benefits-of-refurbishing-old-highrises
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