Calgary SSP Development Listing

[Sluggo]

Originally Posted by SebC

I do find it funny that Jamieson Place was basically the last tower out, now it's getting blocked by City Centre I and if this Eau Claire Tower 1 proceeds, that will be blocking City Centre I. Also noticed Livingston Place 3 & 4 in those drawings, not sure if they are on SSP's radar.

I think/hope they are just placeholders for future development.

[Bigtime]

More should be demanded of the Livingston Place 3&4 site (in terms of design) should they go ahead in the future. Bar has been raised beyond all belief in the Eau Claire area with this design, City Centre, and even Eau Claire 3.

[Table 5]

Livingston Place already seemed behind the times when it was built, so I would expect a much bigger step up for the next version. Ideally, I'd like to see the other half become mostly residential.

[Addick]

First and foremost, this is an exceptional design and this quality only comes from a truly dedicated effort by both the architect and developer. It also looks like the City and Rollin are putting in a shift to allow this design to take-off. I was able to talk to Marc Boutin last night and he addressed most of my concerns. In particular, I really like how they worked with Rollin to get flexibility built into the DC. This flexibility will allow the developers to adjust the second phase according to the local conditions created by the first phase in regards to what uses will be allowed in the podium.

Unfortunately, I walked away without being fully convinced with the need to include the +15's and the design of the south-facing podium on 2nd Ave. Currently, one of the area's issues is that the market/building opens up to the river and turns its, blank, back to the rest of the core, which should be a major source of people. The south side of this development has the important task of opening itself up to the rest of the core and inviting people to enjoy what the development is providing on both 2nd Ave and the waterfront.

From what I can tell, the relevant section of the podium is currently designed to function as pleasant high street with a wide sidewalk. Personally, I think the sidewalk needs to be expanded along the avenue and anchored by two bulbs at each end that function like small/medium-sized plazas. Hopefully, this would help create an inviting public realm. Also, I think it would be helpful if the hotel lobby was a glass atrium as this would increase permeability and allow it to function like a porch.

In regards to the +15's, I'd rather not include them as they have a habit of sucking life away from street-level. However, I feel that this problem could be designed out of this project. If they did not include replacement retail at the +15 level or simply designed the north end of the bridge to funnel people back down to ground floor, I could live with the +15's being included.

Nevertheless, this project is more than promising. More please!

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by SebC

I did see that, but it doesn't have enough information to convince me either way. That atrium space in particular could end up pretty sterile, and might actually be more of a barrier to the interior podium spaces than a conduit to them.

Whilst I'm fairly confident that the new development will have plenty of active edges, active doesn't necessarily mean public and one thing the existing mall does do well is provide indoor, public space adjacent to Eau Claire Plaza and the park and pathway.

It looks to me this project could be Waterfront 4-8 or City Centre 3-7. Those aren't bad projects but they aren't the community hub / regional amenity that the Eau Claire site deserves. Or it could be much better. I don't know yet.

Agreed, the current podium/outdoor areas look very bland and sterile. The public space needs to be much more vibrant.

I understand the need to balance residential/commercial interests so that the property doesn't fall into economic stagnation as the current market is suffering from but the public space definitely needs improvement. I wish there was a way to more effectively draw people to the area.

[Hack&Lube]

I'll be very disappointed if Livingston Place 3/4 end up to be just a mirror of the current towers which look like they were designed in the early 80s instead of the 2000s.

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by Addick

In regards to the +15's, I'd rather not include them as they have a habit of sucking life away from street-level. However, I feel that this problem could be designed out of this project. If they did not include replacement retail at the +15 level or simply designed the north end of the bridge to funnel people back down to ground floor, I could live with the +15's being included.

Nevertheless, this project is more than promising. More please!

In any case it looked better than the last proposal by Harvard in 2008.

The +15s are a necessity for the winter if this is going to have an office building plus all that residential. There isn't any residential in downtown right now that has +15 access (3 Eau Claire eventually). If this trend continues, it might help draw more residents into the core who both live and work there.

[Bunk]

The site north of Livingston is to be primarily residential, with some office component.

[SebC]

I just connected Addick to his SSP username.

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by Bigtime

Harvard Developments new proposal for the Eau Claire Market site:
[snip]


-1000 residential units (one tower proposed as rental, another as residential/hotel)
-800,000sf of office in the large tower (not allowed in the ARP, hopefully they can get around it)
-Lots of retail and commercial space
-Barley Mill and Smokestack to be saved and moved to a "Heritage Square" adjacent to the main plaza on the south side

Alright! Calgary's getting a UNI QLO store in the fantasy future!

Were these placed in Eau Claire Market for a one-time event or are they viewable to the public?

Here's the old Kasian proposal for comparison. I thought it was much more brutal (as in brutalist architecture)
http://kasian.com/project/eau-claire...-redevelopment

And here on Imgur in case it's taken down
http://imgur.com/a/VuQ8x

[SebC]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

Were these placed in Eau Claire Market for a one-time event or are they viewable to the public?

Some of them were published by the Herald.

[SebC]

I couldn't really tell what the plans were for extending Riverfront Ave through the building. It would be really cool if it were to be something like Fremont Street... something that keeps it from becoming a two-block podium that one might have to walk around after 7PM or whatever the mall (?) hours will be.

[Bigtime]

New rendering of the Manulife proposal:


Manulife Proposal by Calgary Renders, on Flickr

[Table 5]

That doesn't look too shabby. Too bad it's in a bit of a hidden location.

[Bigtime]

Yeah, the height is really underwhelming for that location (only 124.5m).

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by Bigtime

Yeah, the height is really underwhelming for that location (only 124.5m).

I guess you should still be able to see it from across the tracks, but yeah this is one project that would look fantastic if it was 3 times taller.

I love the curved glass and soft edges...it's a nice change of pace from all the rigid lines we usually get.

[Regulator75]

I like the design, too bad it's not 200m or higher.

[Barnes]

Unfortunately, when you look at it from the north, the reflection of the ugly ass court building is all you'll see.

[Bigtime]

Originally Posted by Barnes

Unfortunately, when you look at it from the north, the reflection of the ugly ass court building is all you'll see.

True, but I do give the court building a bit of a pass on account of the sweet atrium running the full height of it.

[Muta]

On the Courts building, I know that the exterior is a scaled-down version of what was originally proposed (as is the case with most projects). I believe the original plan had aluminum paneling or something like that. I rather like the building; Phase 3 should be going up in the next couple years, I would assume.