M2 Block | ?m | 4s | XYC | Riddell Kurczaba

DiscoStu said:
That still looks pretty sterile to me. As much as they tinker around with the plaza itself, it'll be hard not to look at that building as a missed opportunity. I just don't get it....was there some code/bylaw issue to work around? How you not take advantage of such a great riverfront location?
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Really comes down to materials and design. Warm materials (brick, wood, etc.) Would completely change it. It’s a very simple design with very smooth and boring looking materials and colours. It has no texture or anything to provide visual interest seems to be the problem
 
It was my understanding that Concorde Entertainment had taken the lease on the larger ground floor space in this building. Just before Christmas interior work began and I was getting excited imagining the possibilities for a restaurant in that space. Sadly having peaked in the window today I think it's going to become office space... my guess would be spill-over from the Harvester space in the old sales centre. Good news in terms of Calgary's burgeoning tech sector but such a waste in terms of prime riverfront space
 
outoftheice said:
It was my understanding that Concorde Entertainment had taken the lease on the larger ground floor space in this building. Just before Christmas interior work began and I was getting excited imagining the possibilities for a restaurant in that space. Sadly having peaked in the window today I think it's going to become office space... my guess would be spill-over from the Harvester space in the old sales centre. Good news in terms of Calgary's burgeoning tech sector but such a waste in terms of prime riverfront space
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That's exactly what's happening.
Harvest is on the upper floors as well, and taking over the remaining ground floor space.
 
That's extremely disappointing... a terrible use of an amazing space.
 
That's a punch in the gut. The restaurant industry is pretty tough right now so I kind of understand, let's hope this isn't its final fate. There's still a parking lot directly adjacent to M2 and one on the west side of the Simmons Building along the riverfront that need some love, the battle isn't over!
 
CCF said:
That's exactly what's happening.
Harvest is on the upper floors as well, and taking over the remaining ground floor space.
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Thanks for the confirmation. Definitely extremely disappointing. What a waste of a prime opportunity to properly activate the river-front with another patio. Makes me wonder what could have been if Framm had stuck to its original plan of making the podium of Verve commercial space. I understand the future was bleak when they made their decision to switch to residential but imagine if today Harvest filled several stories of office space in Verve with room for other tech companies to lease additional space. The added day-time population balanced with the existing evening/weekend population would probably have been enough to support businesses in the remaining empty CRUs and East Village would be that much closer to achieving the vibrancy that was hoped for instead of where we're at today.
 
This is where the office component of the East Village Courtyard proposal would have come in clutch. EV does need office workers to achieve the optimal day around vibrancy but the fact this building was sacrificed is unfortunate. CMLC is finalizing the deal this year for the land on the other side of the Simons building. Hopefully, that development can integrate the riverfront more optimally.
 
My gut feeling says the ground floor office space in M2 is relatively temporary, as is the use of the former East Village Experience Centre. I think before long there will be a restaurant in M2 but it's understandable why that hasn't happened amidst a pandemic.
 
The office space on the ground floor is definitely a stopgap. It looks like they only applied for a temporary change of use, which means it will revert back to restaurant space in the future. My understanding is that Concorde Group wasn't able to take over the space amidst the pandemic-induced restaurant industry downturn, but they still want to open a restaurant at M2 once things stabilize.
 
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