Across Canada, cities are putting local innovation to work to tackle the climate crisis and renew downtown spaces. In Calgary, the Alberta Ecotrust Foundation is partnering with a leading office-to-residential conversion firm to transform an empty office tower into housing that delivers environmental sustainability, affordability, community well-being and economic revitalization.
Turning vacancy into value
As downtowns across Canada face rising vacancy rates in office buildings, Calgary is finding creative ways to reimagine its urban core. One proven approach is to make the most of buildings already in place — saving time, reducing demolition waste and avoiding the environmental costs of new construction.
A key example is Place 800, a 17-storey office building in the city’s downtown. With support from Alberta Ecotrust’s Climate Innovation Fund, the project is upgrading the building’s structure and systems to boost energy performance, improve comfort for residents year-round and cut greenhouse gas emissions. By combining environmental sustainability, housing affordability and economic revitalization, the project reflects the kind of integrated, community-focused innovation that LC3 was designed to support. It’s the kind of local action that can inspire change in other cities.
Once complete, Place 800 will offer 204 rental suites of various sizes, with about 40 percent priced below market. These will include units designed to meet the needs of different residents, along with spaces that support downtown renewal and help draw more people to the area.
Astra Group and Peoplefirst Developments are leading the renovation with a shared commitment to repurposing vacant space and developing in ways that benefit communities. The project is part of the City of Calgary’s Downtown Development Incentive Program, which aims to revitalize the city’s core while addressing housing needs and urban sustainability goals. Early alignment between contractors, engineers, funders and city staff is helping the project run smoothly and address the unique challenges that come with working in older buildings.
Upgrading for efficiency and comfort
Work to retrofit the building is well underway, incorporating many sustainability features. Crews have removed the old interior, and the new rental suites have been laid out to make the best use of space. The heating, cooling and electrical systems are being fully replaced to meet today’s residential standards. The new mechanical setup uses a fan-coil system that heats efficiently in winter and provides much-needed cooling in summer, which in turn improves the building’s resilience to a changing climate.
Outside, the building will feature new high-performance windows and a new layer of modern metal cladding to improve energy performance and give it a fresh, updated look. These upgrades, which include high-efficiency boilers, are expected to reduce energy use and emissions by about 30 percent compared with the National Energy Code for Buildings (2017) baseline.
An external assessment of the building’s structure was completed before renovations began. The Alberta Ecotrust team plans to work with a University of Calgary professor to better understand how the retrofit affects the building’s overall environmental footprint.
“By repurposing existing buildings, we aim to provide affordable, accessible and energy-efficient housing for Calgarians. Contributing to the broader revitalization of Calgary’s downtown west end, Place 800 adds to the vibrancy and sustainability of our city. This project aligns with the city’s major municipal initiatives, creating a more dynamic urban environment.”
— Maxim Olshevsky, CEO, Astra Group and Peoplefirst Developments
Making climate action work for communities
Cities are at the centre of the climate crisis, and many are looking for practical ways to reduce environmental impacts while improving life for residents. The Place 800 retrofit shows how converting empty office space into energy-efficient homes can help the climate while also meeting other pressing needs.
This project is more than a housing solution. It’s about making better use of what cities already have — including underused buildings, existing infrastructure and skilled local workers. By retrofitting rather than demolishing, the project avoids sending large amounts of construction waste to landfill and reduces energy use. It also helps preserve the embodied carbon of concrete and other materials, avoiding additional greenhouse gas emissions.
At the same time, the project supports local green jobs and contributes to the City of Calgary’s vision for a vibrant, inclusive and climate-resilient downtown. In dense urban areas, retrofits like this also help preserve valuable land and infrastructure, making better use of space while strengthening community ties.
“Through our Climate Innovation Fund, we invest in urban climate solutions that tackle multiple societal and environmental challenges simultaneously. Astra and Peoplefirst’s approach has the potential to be widely replicated, driving broader systemic change toward more sustainable urban development.”
— Mike Mellross, Vice-President, Alberta Ecotrust Foundation
Shaping better cities, faster
As part of the national LC3 network, Alberta Ecotrust’s work on Place 800 demonstrates what’s possible when climate action is designed with people in mind. The project illustrates that environmental leadership can and should support both social and economic progress.
By turning a single building into a catalyst for broader change, Place 800 points to practical solutions that others can adapt and accelerate. In Alberta and beyond, it offers a model for making communities more sustainable and vibrant, more quickly and more effectively. Learn more about how LC3 is helping cities move faster toward climate solutions that work — for communities and the people who live in them.