Development to be biggest in Calgary history
Retail, office, industrial and hotel district near airport to cost $3 billion
Mario Toneguzzi, Canwest News Service
Published: Wednesday, April 23, 2008
CALGARY -- A massive $3-billion mixed-use commercial development in Calgary -- the biggest in the city's history -- will add more than 10 million square feet of industrial space, about two million square feet of offices, and about 1.5 million square feet of retail, Canwest News Service has learned.
The retail, office, industrial and hotel development will be the largest of its kind in Western Canada, said WAM Development Group and its partner on this project, AIMCo. It is part of a development called StoneGate Landing.
Construction is scheduled to begin this spring with the first phase of occupancy expected by late 2009. The entire site, north of the Calgary International Airport, is expected to be completed by 2016. The mega project is being officially unveiled today.
"[The project] speaks to a lot of very positive attributes about Calgary," said Tim Hogan, senior vice-president with WAM in Calgary. "As a distribution hub, Calgary has a geographic advantage that a lot of other cities don't have."
Calgary also has one of the busiest airports in the country and "it's about to significantly increase its size and if you tend to look around at major cities and you look at the development around airports, we're kind of lagging the model in terms of the development that goes around airports," said Hogan.
WAM already has three industrial buildings under construction totaling 1.1 million square feet in the area. It is the first phase of StoneGate Landing. Those buildings will be finished and available for occupancy in June.
The StoneGate Landing site will feature 1.5 million square feet of retail development. It will be an open-air, pedestrian-friendly shopping area with fashion and lifestyle outlets, along with anchor stores and hotels. There will also be and entertainment district, which will host a large-format theatre and restaurants.
As well, there will be low- and mid-rise buildings designed on a campus setting spanning more than two million square feet of office space.
And there will be more than 10 million square feet of buildings in the light-industrial park.
"It's an absolutely awesome development, and it's world class. Absolutely world class," said Christopher Ridabock, global real estate firm DTZ Barnicke's CEO in Calgary.
"It's just in the right location because it's got the close proximity to the airport. As Calgary becomes more and more of a world-class destination, which it is every day, it's kind of the perfect place to be," he said. "Calgary is a little bit late in having discovered how important its airport is, not only to Calgary but to the rest of the world."
Adjacent to the StoneGate Landing project will be a residential neighbourhood that will be home to more than 60,000 people over the next 10 years, said Darren Durstling, a partner with WAM.
StoneGate Landing could include more than one hotel on the site. At the end of the day, the industrial real estate construction could be between 40 to 50 buildings and the office component could include 10 to 20 buildings, said Hogan.
A future light-rail route is planned to go through the site. There is also a possible arena slated for the site, as well as a fire hall. And estimates are that 20,000 plus people will eventually be employed at StoneGate Landing throughout the various businesses.
"The city has taken on some pretty large [projects] but I don't think anything of this magnitude," he said. "And when you consider the proximity to the airport and the Deerfoot Trail, it's in a class of its own."
"[It's] one of the most vivid demonstrations of confidence in the industrial and commercial markets here in Calgary by virtue of the size and investment committed to this project," Bruce Graham, president of Calgary Economic Development. "It's a major undertaking. It really puts Calgary in the same echelon as Toronto and Chicago and other major distribution centres."
© The Vancouver Sun 2008
