Calgary shares details on new office-to-residential conversion projects

The City of Calgary says it has reached the halfway mark in its ambitious plan to remove six million square feet of vacant downtown office space by 2031, unveiling more details about nine new office-to-residential conversion projects.

The program, launched to tackle Calgary’s stubbornly high downtown vacancy rate, has already transformed six former office towers into nearly 500 new homes and more than 200 hotel rooms.

Now, the city is looking to build on that momentum with nine additional projects, part of 21 conversions currently supported under the initiative that’s expected to add more than 2,600 new homes to Calgary’s core.

For tenants like Sebastian Villarroel, the program has already made a difference. Villarroel, who recently moved into a three-bedroom apartment in a converted office building with two roommates, says living downtown has been both affordable and convenient.

“The rooms are spacious, the building itself is pretty organized,” Villarroel said. “I’m a young professional, being able to afford living in downtown. It’s great being able to work in downtown and live in downtown. Everything is close.”

“They should keep doing it, it’s definitely helping the residents here in Calgary.”

Despite progress, Calgary’s downtown vacancy rate remains around 30 per cent, according to Michael Hoffman, Vice President and Managing Director at CBRE Calgary.

“We’re still seeing about 30 per cent, it has a lot to do with continued M&A in the oil and gas sector,” Hoffman explained. “There is a sizeable reduction in vacancy due to the conversions.”

Mayor Jeromy Farkas says the program is one of the city’s best investments.

“When we look at the results, $7 in total economic impact for every dollar invested here, there is bar none, no better economic opportunity for us as a council to continue to invest capital funding,” Farkas said.

New projects announced