That's what I was thinking as well. The driller makes me think there could be construction coming, particularly in the NW corner. Maybe they are replacing that section for now?
17th and 4th | 164m | 46s | Vesta | Zeidler
- Thread starter Surrealplaces
- Start date
haltcatchfire
Senior Member
That rig is PDI which is Priestly Demolition Inc.
I still wonder what the drilling rig would be there for? The sites already been cleared.
Edit: Oh okay, if it's owned by a demo company, then must be part of the the demolition
maestro
Senior Member
It's not a drill rig. That's an excavator.
Stephen Ave
Active Member
That’s disappointing, I was excited thinking another high rise was one the way.
Calgcouver
Active Member
This. I would be very surprised if you weren't correct. I don't think Grosvenor has an appetite to build high-rises in Calgary anymore, and i would be willing to bet they may have not received the bids they wanted in the previous offering they had in 2019 probably because of demo costs on the existing structure(s). So they will probably clear the site, create temp parking and maybe market it again and hopefully a builder will perceive it as less risky and the land can change hands to someone that plans to develop it. Best guess anyways.
Alex_YYC
Senior Member
Well, that’s a downer. I was quite excited about this one. Not just a couple of extra towers, but also a nice project for that corner.
Urb
Active Member
I can confirm that is a demolition excavator. The office building is coming down. There might be a big announcement coming about this site soon. That's all I can say for now...
Having the office building come down is a good thing overall and long term, but sucks that it'll probably be a parking lot for a while.
CBBarnett
Senior Member
The original proposal was really nice, some version of it would be good to see - I'd imagine that even if the Grosvenor plans change completely, a couple towers plus retail at a high density urban treatment is likely. Combined the site is large enough for something really serious in scale and intensity here, far beyond what the area has currently. The block itself will fit a ton of density, but it also is fairly close to ground-zero for a far more urban future of Calgary. As impressive as the city centre has been growing the past few decades, the walkable retail catchment population 30 years from now on this site will be absolutely massive and dwarf today's numbers.
What would be pretty cool is a pedestrian-oriented retail wrap, combined with a movie theatre above + some towers. It's a staple of Canadian "big city" design - Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto already have multiple of these. It's our turn and would complement the urban format box store cluster over at 8th Street & 17th Ave as another serious anchor of retail activity.
Hopefully we don't get a dirt patch or parking lot for too long.
What would be pretty cool is a pedestrian-oriented retail wrap, combined with a movie theatre above + some towers. It's a staple of Canadian "big city" design - Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto already have multiple of these. It's our turn and would complement the urban format box store cluster over at 8th Street & 17th Ave as another serious anchor of retail activity.
Hopefully we don't get a dirt patch or parking lot for too long.
ThujaPlicata
Active Member
This corner can have a lot of potential for temporary use that should not be automatically designated to parking - and most definitely not to be fenced out either like this wasted space:
https://www.google.com/maps/@51.037...18.904284&pitch=0&thumbfov=100!7i13312!8i6656
But instead to utilize the space for a temporary Cartopia style concept like the one in Portland https://www.cartopiafoodcarts.com/
Urban Outdoorsman
Active Member
I can't imagine this will sit empty for toooo long. This must be one of the best blank slate sites in the entire city. It's a huge parcel on the intersection of two of Calgary's most prominent main streets
Chinook Arch
Active Member
Whatever they do there, it better not be a one story plaza like the one to the west of it.
maestro
Senior Member
That depends on whether the owner has plans to build in the immediate future and they can pre-lease the space. An occupied, disposable sttuco box beats a parking or weed lot.
Michael A
New Member
The machine parked there is a high-reach excavator and, once assembled, will be structurally demolishing the 10-storey.