Man, it was just missing some retail along 2nd Street. Even two shops would've gone a long way; instead, they went for some sterile landscaping with planters. Otherwise, nice building.
I can see 1st SW becoming more prominent, similar to 10th Ave. The streetscape already has a head start on developing into a consistently vibrant corridor — it just needs more residential and mixed-use units in the vicinity, along with continued development expanding south toward 17th Ave.
No retail on the footsteps of an LRT? Another failed TOD. Not to mention how underwhelming the design is. Would've been better suited for a phased double 10-ish-storey development
Perfect density boost. Nimbyist anti-height arguments are such a headache. Looking at inner city Vancouver—areas like South Granville are coming alive with 30+ storey towers. Calgary can either resist or start building now, because high density in the inner city is inevitable.
Honestly, as long as Cidex redesigns the podium on their Elbow River site, then their three towers will serve as a good drop-off in the skyline looking out from the East. Looking south from Macleod....well, you just gotta accept most of the Downtown core will eventually become hidden as more...
It looks nice, but the BMO centre missed an absolute opportunity to include retail along 17th Ave. That big sterile wall of brick right across it doesn't do much for vibrancy.