The University of Calgary and The City of Calgary announced a new partnership to convert an underused office tower (801 7 Ave. S.W.) into active academic, teaching, and research space. This expansion to the university’s downtown campus will transform 180,000 square feet into the new home for the University of Calgary’s School of Architecture, Planning, and Landscape (SAPL) that includes design studios, classrooms, research spaces, a robotic fabrication workshop, an exhibition gallery, and a community-facing design justice lab. The recently renovated building atrium will be regularly used by SAPL for public lectures and events focused on city building.
This project is supported by up to $9 million in funding from The City of Calgary’s Downtown Post-Secondary Institution Incentive Program (PSI Program). Calgary City Council created the PSI Program as part of the broader Downtown Strategy to increase the overall economic activity, vibrancy and safety in the greater downtown area while also reducing downtown office vacancy.
The University of Calgary downtown campus expansion allows for the relocation of all 400 current SAPL graduates and 800 new undergraduates — 1,200 students total — into Calgary’s core. Located next to the CTrain’s 8th Street station, an active transportation corridor, Century Gardens Park and housing, the project is one of several current City of Calgary initiatives that are strengthening the west end of downtown including streetscape improvements to 8 Street S.W. and 8 Avenue S.W. and four office-to-residential conversion projects within two blocks. This project’s proximity to UCalgary’s existing downtown campus across the street at 8th and 8th creates a new campus atmosphere in the downtown west end.
Quotes:
“The expansion of the University of Calgary’s downtown campus is a key part of revitalizing our city’s core. This project breathes new life into underused office space, bringing more than a thousand students into the west end and transforming it into a vibrant, dynamic area. By strengthening ties between post-secondary institutions and businesses, we’re driving economic growth, while making downtown a safer and more active place for all.”
– Mayor Jyoti Gondek
“Through this first of its kind investment, the University of Calgary will be able to further grow the local economy by educating the workforce of tomorrow. This will create 1,200 new student spaces downtown offering students a unique, real-world learning experience while freeing up 800 vital spaces on campus for in demand programs. We are grateful to the City of Calgary for this important investment in post-secondary learning.”
– Dr. Ed McCauley, President and Vice-Chancellor, University of Calgary
“This relocation and expansion downtown will enrich the educational journey of our students, providing a dynamic urban context for learning within the fabric of the city. Downtown will be a living laboratory where our students can apply their learning in a practical context. Being immersed in the heart of the city is important because it provides more opportunities for our students and researchers to work with our professional community, the city, and others on for collaborative projects.”
– Dr. John Brown, Dean of the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape
“Adding over a thousand students and an active academic and community space to downtown is a key part of the Downtown Strategy. It makes the heart of our city a hub of innovation and learning while adding to the street-level vibrancy that makes our city thrive and our streets feel safer. This new office conversion project is a great example of bringing all the elements of the Downtown Strategy together to strengthen our downtown and benefit all Calgarians.”
– Thom Mahler, Director of Downtown Strategy
“This is what building a bold, future-focused city looks like. Transforming underused office space into a vibrant academic hub — while bringing more than a thousand students, along with their energy and ideas, into the heart of downtown — is a major driver of economic growth. This project will fuel innovation, grow our talent pipeline and strengthen the dynamic, livable core that makes Calgary the place where people and businesses want to be.”
— Brad Parry, President & CEO, Calgary Economic Development
