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Office Space Conversion

Floor plans are tricky for larger spaces for sure. Here's a quicky example of what I thought could be done with say, 5TH and 5TH. This is very rudimentary and not architecturally correct but gives an example of how floor space could be divided up and given to purchasers as bare bones space. Plumbing and electrical would have to be put into each suite. Right ow the building has 15K floorplates, and could be divided into 7 lot or 8 loft spaces that would be between 1,300 and 2,000 sq feet. Pretty good chunk of space to work with.
Right now as an office building it's renting at $21.00/sq ft. If the market stayed stagnant for an extended period of time and the building was half empty and renting at half that, the numbers may start to work. Rent the building for $10.00 a square foot for ten years or sell the space as is for $100.00 a sq foot? A 2,000 sq ft space for $200K would be very appealing for someone who just wants a large loft space, especially a young guy who would be happy to throw in a bed and some kitchen appliances. Costs would change with the plumbing and electrical, etc.. I could see people making them into large bachelor or one bedroom suites. One of the problems is the building codes. You could use the space as is and throw a bed and some kitchen appliances in, but not without having to change things to meet the building code.

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So, you have a tax base that collects X dollars, from Y occupied properties, with a collective value of occupied space of Z.

The business tax is levied on any business that occupies space within Calgary during the calendar year. It is calculated by multiplying the assessed value of the business space.

So, two things swing the rates, changes in value of occupied properties, and changes in occupancy.

Unoccupied properties pay no business tax. So a change in occupancy from lets say 10% to 20% can generate a huge increase in business tax bills.

The smaller swings come from the tax shift re-allocating the burden, not the occupancy uplift.
 
I wonder if Strategic is looking at the Fina Building (730 8th ave) as a potential conversion? That stretch of 8th and 7th ave has some interesting mid century office spaces that are a lot more urban friendly in terms of massing and ground level retail than what we see with 70s-present office developments.
 
Disraeli said:
I wonder if Strategic is looking at the Fina Building (730 8th ave) as a potential conversion? That stretch of 8th and 7th ave has some interesting mid century office spaces that are a lot more urban friendly in terms of massing and ground level retail than what we see with 70s-present office developments.
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That would be great. I love the sign on the Fina Building.
 
Disraeli said:
I wonder if Strategic is looking at the Fina Building (730 8th ave) as a potential conversion? That stretch of 8th and 7th ave has some interesting mid century office spaces that are a lot more urban friendly in terms of massing and ground level retail than what we see with 70s-present office developments.
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I've always thought of the Fina Building as an excellent candidate for residential conversion. It would make a really hip sort of space with the retro sign above the entryway.
 
The Fina building has always been a favorite. The only thing I'm not keen about is the yellowish brick. It would be nice if they painted it a different color, but what color would go with the green?
 
lol, not a wing nut idea IMO. I've seen a couple of these in NYC, another city where parking prices are high. Ground floor retail would be a plus.
MJC said:

My wingnut idea for office space conversion downtown is actually conversion to automated parkade with activated ground floor retail. I'm not thinking a ton a buildings, like one or two C-, 50,000-80,000 SF buildings.

I talked to a structural engineer buddy of mine and it is theoretically possible, I got the idea reading Canadian Parking Association article [URL='http://canadianparking.ca/future-proofing-parking-structures/']here[/URL]:

[INDENT]Load capacity for parking structures is relatively light compared to other uses – it is only 2.4 kPa compared to 2.4 kPa (live load) plus 1.0 kPa (partitions) for an office building, and a minimum of 4.8 kPa for retail structures. This is where these structures struggle to be easily adapted for other uses.[/INDENT]
[/QUOTE]
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Does anyone know what's happening with the building on the NW corner of 6th street and 7th ave? I remember it being slated for conversion to residential, and it's been empty and the businesses at ground level have been closed for a while.
 
From the Q3 2019 MDA report (page 10) for Artis REIT, the owner of the building:

Redevelopment plans were underway to convert Sierra Place, located in Calgary, Alberta, from an office property to a multiresidential property. The building, which is conveniently located downtown on a light rail transit line and provides access to the Plus 15 walkway system, would have approximately 100 suites upon completion. Redevelopment work is on hold as the REIT is pursuing opportunities to sell this property
 
Who ever buys it will either start leasing it as an office, or continue with the residential conversion, but either way, the retail will most likely return.
 
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