From the Calgary Herald - March 3
"Just as Calgary commuters are shaking off downtown detour hangovers, a new traffic headache is looming as another downtown skyscraper is taking shape in the core.
Construction is to begin in mid-March on a second office tower for Eighth Avenue Place off 5th Street S.W.
Work on the 40-storey, 850,000-square-foot west tower is estimated to wrap by the summer of 2014.
The existing 49-storey tower, comprising 1.1 million square feet of office space, was completed in early 2011 on the site of the old Penny Lane complex.
While commuters may be groaning about another downtown detour complicating their crawl home, Calgarians should see construction as a blessing.
“We should be happy — many cities would kill for that,” said Maggie Schofield, executive director of the Calgary Downtown Association BRZ.
“The fact that we have that kind of growing in our downtown is good. It’s a good headache to have.”
Total office demand in Calgary’s downtown commercial real estate market hit a high level in 2011 — more than four times the 10-year historical average.
Eighth Avenue Place’s project manager Martyn Wesley says the road closures are unavoidable, but the main level is already well underway.
“There’s going to be inconveniences for people,” said project manager Martyn Wesley.
“This kind of building is a difficult building to build. We’ll probably be delivering materials at night and on Saturdays.”
As a result of the construction, 8th Avenue is going to be reduced to one eastbound lane between 4th and 5th streets S.W. Traffic on 5th Street will be reduced to two southbound lanes.
Motorists will be allowed to turn left onto 9th Avenue, but drivers are warned the area is expected to be extremely congested during rush hours.
The Plus-15 walkway leading to the Centennial Parkade and the Plains Midstream Plaza will be closed during construction.
For pedestrians, the sidewalk on the south side of 8th Avenue will be closed throughout construction.
Parkade access is expected to remain open.
Ald. John Mar, whose ward includes west downtown, says the upcoming traffic tie-ups are a growing pain Calgarians have to get used to.
“It’s a double-edged sword, because on one hand it signifies a return of economic prosperity, but on the other hand it represents a continued inconvenience for motorists. But you can’t make an omelette without breaking some eggs.”
Mar said that motorists eventually get used to changing their routes, such as when construction on The Bow tower saw a block of 6th Avenue S.E. shut down, displacing 20,000 motorists a day."
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