Calgary’s Stephen Avenue development proposal will impact heritage sites

A new proposal could revitalize an area of Calgary’s downtown which has been largely abandoned.

The massive project will affect up to 15 heritage sites.

“You have Calgary’s original stock exchange right here,” said Josh Traptow, chief executive officer of Heritage Calgary.

A street in downtown Calgary could finally be revitalized and completely changed. A developer wants to build condos, retail, a hotel, and office space here but there’s just one issue – all of these are heritage buildings.

“You have the old Canadian Bible Society and the old Calgary furniture store down the street there,” said Traptow.

Triovest, a commercial real estate advisory, and the capital firm has submitted an application to build what would be called Stephen Avenue Quarter here now under review.

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These buildings won’t necessarily be demolished, some of their facades will remain intact.

Traptow says the project is of massive scale, especially when it comes to how many heritage buildings it will affect.

“In my 7 years at heritage Calgary I think this is the largest development we’ve seen with a large number of historic sites,” said Traptow.

It would also include western Canada’s new tallest tower, changing our city’s skyline.

It would attach itself to an area attracting new developments. The area is a juxtaposition between old and new.

“This stretch on 7th avenue is one of the last intact blocks in the city of Calgary that dates from this time period. Many of these buildings were built in the 1910s [and] what Calgary would have looked like at the turn of the century,” said Traptow.

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15 historic buildings will be affected out of the total 17 in the area between centre street and 1st street along 7th Ave and Stephen Ave.

Some are designated as provincial and municipal historic resources which means they can’t be significantly altered or demolished.

One side of Stephen Ave will also look completely different.

All of these buildings would be part of the new development so the Winners, James Joyce, etc. would be gutted and gone.

Everything from the Alberta block all the way down to the Bank of Montreal, they’re proposing various retentions of the façade, but not the buildings themselves.

Triovest tells CityNews they’re excited to be part of the revitalization of Calgary and more details will be shared as work proceeds.

There’s no timeline as of yet.