The Great Downtown Shift is Coming
With new office towers at the ready, what will Edmonton do with all of its new commercial space? Converting older buildings is an answer.
BY STEVEN SANDOR
The Stantec Tower, all 62 storeys of it, should be complete in two years. The Kelly Ramsey Tower, which already boasts heavy hitters like KPMG and Enbridge as tenants, is offering leases. The EPCOR Tower still is leasing space.
These new towers will change not only the cityâs skyscape, but the nature of Edmontonâs downtown. And, itâs time for landlords to start looking at alternative uses for some of the ageing commercial buildings in the core.
Thatâs the clear message from the Downtown Business Associationâs meeting Thursday morning. University of Alberta student Satish Narayanan presented the findings of his study on how Edmonton office buildings can be converted for other uses.
âOur job is to bring more people to the city centre,â he said.
Narayanan said that Edmontonâs commercial vacancy rate jumped from 9.83 per cent in the first quarter of this year to 15.3 per cent in the second. Because new office spaces are available, what weâre seeing is business moving to the shiny towers â and leaving the old digs behind, with no one left to fill it.
He talked about projects in Europe, the United States and Australia where vacant buildings have been transformed into suites, lofts or student housing. In one example, a vacant commercial building in Amsterdam was converted into a mix of student dorms and a four-star hotel. The students staying in the dorm work at the hotel.
Jim Taylor, executive director of the Downtown Business Association, said there are several ways to address the changing nature of the core.
http://www.avenueedmonton.com/September-2016/The-Great-Downtown-Shift-is-Coming/