In the six months since our last update, progress has been moving along nicely at the site of Grosvenor Americas and Cressey Development Group's Avenue, the James Cheng-designed two-tower condo project currently nearing completion in Calgary's Downtown West End. Topped-off and almost fully clad, the taller of the two-tower development has all but completed construction, with just interior spaces, landscaping, and final touches left to go before occupation. 

Avenue nearing completion in downtown Calgary, image by Forum contributor Surrealplaces

At 24 and 18 storeys, Avenue will soon be home to 319 residential units, bringing an influx of at least 500 people to the corner of 5th Avenue and 10th Street SW. The building itself fronts almost immediately onto the adjacent Bow River. Part of a quickly growing forest of condo and office towers, this most recent addition to the Downtown West End is just one part of the much larger process of urban redevelopment which has defined downtown Calgary for most of the last decade. 

Podium level view of Avenue, image by Forum contributor Surrealplaces

Clad using a mixture of stone and metal window boxes, the design of Avenue's podium level is evocative of another era, while the tower above has been finished in a much more conventional way befitting of the glass box in the sky approach to condo construction that has been the industry standard across North America for the last 15 years. Viewed in the close-up below, the contrast can be appreciated, the more traditional materiality of the base a standout feature of this otherwise thoroughly modern development. 

Close-up view of cladding detail at the podium level, image by Forum contributor Surrealplaces

Once complete, Avenue will be a welcome addition to the neighbourhood and surrounding skyline, the project to inject some much needed life and urban vibrancy into a corner of the Downtown West End that

Avenue, nearing completion in downtown Calgary, image by Forum contributor Surrealplaces

Avenue, nearing completion in downtown Calgary, image by Forum contributor Surrealplaces


has been lacking in both for many years.

SkyriseCalgary will be sure to return to this project as progress continues. For more information, check out the associated Database file and Forum thread, and as always, feel free to join the conversation in the comments section below.