Stephen Avenue Quarter | 241m | 66s | Triovest | Gibbs Gage

[JoeUrban]

Article about Triovest buying the 7th avenue block

Revitalization planned for run-down downtown block . . . again

A rundown but historic downtown Calgary block that has been the subject of failed development plans in the past has once again been targeted for revitalization by a…

calgaryherald.com

... executive vice-president of investments Tim Blair said in a statement that Triovest is looking forward to transforming the block into a “hip enclave in the heart of downtown.”

Oops, actually complete demolition.

 

[artvandelay]

Article about Triovest buying the 7th avenue block

Revitalization planned for run-down downtown block . . . again

A rundown but historic downtown Calgary block that has been the subject of failed development plans in the past has once again been targeted for revitalization by a…

calgaryherald.com

... executive vice-president of investments Tim Blair said in a statement that Triovest is looking forward to transforming the block into a “hip enclave in the heart of downtown.”

Oops, actually complete demolition.

Edit - I take it back!

Although the fact this hasn't been picked up in the local media is yet is bananas.

 

[JoeUrban]

Man local news has sure gone downhill. Why put out an article about a development without discussing the publicly available details of the development that are easily accessible with minimal effort from the City's website?

The article I posted was from 2016, when they first purchased the properties

 

[JonnyCanuck]

Has Triovest built anything of note anywhere that would make people feel comfortable or confident that they can pull off a project in a heritage district like Stephen Avenue that requires a signature project from street-level on up and the utmost care?

Triovest is not a builder. They are the property management arm of Coril Holdings (Mannix family). Coril developed the Hyatt hotel block which also includes heritage buildings. Personally, I like the way it turned out and do not remember what it looked like before, nor do I care. If Coril is developing this project, I think it is in good hands.

Centre St S & 8 Ave SW · Calgary, AB T2G 0P5, Canada

Intersection

www.google.ca

 

[JoeUrban]

Personally, I like the way it turned out and do not remember what it looked like before, nor do I care.

Absolutely, lack of memory definitely makes the present seem best.

 

[artvandelay]

The article I posted was from 2016, when they first purchased the properties

Well, I feel shame.

 

[JoeUrban]

I've just seen some of the renderings.
I can't share them because perversely there is an explicit restriction for any of the details to be posted on the internet (anyone want to start shit about that lack of transparency?) but I can tell you that the 'activated areas' look like every single corporate inner courtyard that you've seen in every office park.

 

[JoeUrban]

Actually very much like the municipal building atrium but open air, so imagine this:

But with a road, and with 2 dimensional historical facades tacked onto the outside.

And something that kind of looks like this on top but with narrower windows.

So essentially a 1970s-looking development with heritage art hung up in front.

 

[haltcatchfire]

I really hope you're wrong about your characterization of our esteemed fellow Calgarians @haltcatchfire but I have lived here long enough to know that's probably how it will go down.

I do usually prefer to be wrong .

 

[JoeUrban]

The 7th avenue facade looks kind of like this but with more glass in the top half

 

[JonnyCanuck]

The interiors of all those buildings in question (Hudson block, Winners) fronting 8th Ave have changed from their original state. There is nothing inside that is worth preserving for the sake of 'heritage'. The only building in this scope that I would like to see preserved in it's current state, inside & out, is the James Joyce pub (Molson's bank). All the rest, I will take the original exterior with repurposing of the interiors.
The building that is the Rose Garden Thai restaurant is clearly a misfit and not the original facade. However that speaks to a wider issue. If you look at pictures from a 100 years ago, none of the buildings along Stephen Ave. have looked the same over the decades. Most are just a hodge podge of different architecture styles. No symmetry. Hardly any of them would you stop and admire. While I like history and heritage as much as the next person, I also like progress and improvement. There are ways of blending the two.

 

[adamyyc]

I was hoping the atrium would look somewhat like what is proposed at “The Well” in Toronto.

 

[Roaring Flames]

I've just seen some of the renderings.
I can't share them because perversely there is an explicit restriction for any of the details to be posted on the internet (anyone want to start shit about that lack of transparency?) but I can tell you that the 'activated areas' look like every single corporate inner courtyard that you've seen in every office park.

Any idea when those renders will become public?

 

[wolvie]

The sport check has a nice central open stairwell with a skylight and vintage wrought iron balustrade that would be a shame to lose.

 

[JoeUrban]

The interiors of all those buildings in question (Hudson block, Winners) fronting 8th Ave have changed from their original state. There is nothing inside that is worth preserving for the sake of 'heritage'. The only building in this scope that I would like to see preserved in it's current state, inside & out, is the James Joyce pub (Molson's bank). All the rest, I will take the original exterior with repurposing of the interiors.

All but one of the affected Stephen Avenue sites listed on the inventory of evaluated historical resources list other character defining elements that are in addition to the front façade.

The building that is the Rose Garden Thai restaurant is clearly a misfit and not the original facade.

The Rose Garden This restaurant is not listed on the heritage inventory so is of no concern.

However that speaks to a wider issue. If you look at pictures from a 100 years ago, none of the buildings along Stephen Ave. have looked the same over the decades. Most are just a hodge podge of different architecture styles. No symmetry.

The hodge podge of different architecture styles.is another way of saying that there are a density of different styles in a small area, making it actually even more valuable than if it was an entire block of what was essentially the same building repeated, so that's actually an argument for retention. Think if someone said "let's get rid of that museum collection, it's got all kinds of different collections, no symmetry!" That's a similar argument

Hardly any of them would you stop and admire.

Luckily the process that allows heritage sites onto the heritage inventory, onto the list of protected sites by the province, and designation as a National Historic District by the federal government uses far more thoughtful criteria than that. Also I think most would very much disagree with you there.

While I like history and heritage as much as the next person, I also like progress and improvement. There are ways of blending the two.

Indeed, demolition of most while preserving a few walls is not that.