Authored by: Rimkus Built Environment Solutions Marketing Team
Calgary’s Downtown Office Conversion Program shows that office-to-residential conversion can work at meaningful scale, but the City’s project record also shows that feasibility is building-specific. Floor depth, daylight, façade condition, structural modifications, mechanical replacement, code upgrades, financing, and concealed conditions can determine whether conversion is more practical than continued office leasing, renovation, sale, or redevelopment.
The City’s supporting analysis estimates that downtown Calgary had more than 12 million square feet of vacant office space at the time of its analysis. It also found that assessed values of downtown office properties declined by more than $16 billion after 2015.
The sections below walk through what the program’s funded projects reveal about conversion costs and timelines, which building characteristics tend to make conversion feasible, and how recent projects have financed the gap between what a conversion costs and what the converted building is worth.
Key takeaway: Calgary office conversion program funded projects
Records from Calgary’s Downtown Office Conversion Program show how building configuration and construction conditions may affect office-to-residential conversion candidacy, and how planned outcomes differ from what has actually been delivered.
What the funded projects show
- Since 2021, the City has supported 21 projects at various stages; completed examples include The Loft, with 56 homes, and Dominion Centre, with 132 homes
- One funded project, the Barron Building, saw its cost estimate rise from $50–55 million to $115 million as construction proceeded
What may influence feasibility and cost
- Floor depth, floor-plate shape, and daylight access are among the geometric factors that affect conversion candidacy
- Financing for recent projects has combined federal, City, and developer capital
- The City’s analysis finds conversion costs can exceed a project’s stabilized value even with the standard incentive, creating a financing gap for many otherwise suitable projects
For guidance on evaluating a building’s conversion potential, Contact Us.
Calgary’s Downtown Office Conversion Program supports 21 projects at various stages
The City of Calgary’s Downtown Office Conversion Program supports 21 projects. Together, they are planned to convert 2.68 million square feet of office space into 2,667 new homes, a 226-room hotel, and a hostel. Per the City’s own analysis, every $1 in public funding since 2021 has drawn roughly $4 in private investment.
By mid-2026, the City reported 8 completed projects delivering close to 800 homes. The remaining supported projects were under construction or at earlier stages, so the program’s full planned output has not yet been delivered. Project-level records allow owners to compare potential unit yield and affordability requirements with likely construction scope and available funding sources.
Completed and in-progress projects show a range of conversion scales
The City of Calgary’s project map spans a wide range of scale, from small completed conversions to large, multi-phase towers still under construction. Smaller completed buildings document delivered outcomes. Larger towers show how phased work and stacked funding can support greater conversion scale, though their final unit counts remain subject to change until completion.
Small and mid-size buildings
Cornerstone, the former SNC-Lavalin Building, was reported as Calgary’s first completed downtown office-to-residential conversion, opening in 2024. Secondary reporting indicates roughly 40% of its units were listed at 20% below market rent for a defined period.
The Loft at 744 4 Avenue S.W. converted office space into 56 rental homes, opening in 2025 as the fourth completed conversion under the program.
Dominion Centre converted just under 100,000 square feet into 132 rental suites, reopening in 2025 with a $1.2 million Downtown Retrofit Challenge grant on top of the program’s standard incentive. The approved project required at least 25% of units at affordable rates.
Reporting indicates 84 of the 132 suites, roughly 64%, were ultimately offered at affordable rates. Project materials project a 51% reduction in energy use and a 40% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions relative to the original office building. These are modeled projections rather than confirmed post-occupancy results.
Larger towers carried by phased funding
Aspen Properties’ Palliser One, a 27-story tower, received its first phase of funding in 2022 for a roughly 200,000-square-foot conversion into 176 apartments. A second-phase approval in 2023 brought the approved total to 395 units at that stage.
The project’s current listing shows the scope has since grown further, to approximately 418,000 square feet and 424 planned units, a reminder that even approved project scope can change before completion.
Crestpoint Real Estate Investments has been reported by CBC News as converting the former TransAlta headquarters into 153 homes, with a planned additional tower bringing the combined total to 488 homes. These figures come from local news reporting rather than the City’s own project map, so owners evaluating this project as a comparable should confirm current scope directly.
Screening and technical due diligence shape which buildings qualify as strong candidates
In an office-to-residential conversion, a favorable floor plate does not eliminate the need for façade upgrades, new plumbing risers, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) redesign, fire and life-safety work, or structural modifications.
A Gensler suitability assessment prepared for the City found that suitable buildings averaged 224,000 square feet, larger on average than the buildings the program has approved to date. This suggests future conversion opportunities may skew toward bigger buildings than the program’s early approvals.
Floor depth, floor-plate shape, perimeter-to-core ratio, and window distribution are more informative together than any single measurement. Moderate floor depths that allow daylight to reach dwelling areas generally improve conversion potential.
In an unsprinklered suite, Alberta’s building code generally requires each bedroom to have an exterior window or exterior door that can be opened from inside for emergency escape. A sprinklered suite may qualify for an exception under the applicable code provisions.
Operable windows can simplify some residential ventilation strategies. Sealed curtain-wall façades may require more extensive envelope or window work to meet that egress requirement.
Floor-to-floor height, existing structural systems such as post-tensioned slabs, and plumbing riser strategy are building-specific variables. A structural condition assessment should verify these rather than assume general industry ranges. Removing legacy office ductwork may create opportunities to reconfigure ceiling space, but usable residential clear height depends on the replacement mechanical and fire-protection design.
Residential conversion often requires a mechanical redesign that provides suite-level comfort control. Whether existing office equipment can be reused is building-specific and is typically evaluated through a mechanical system assessment.
Early due diligence may include coordinated structural condition assessments, envelope, mechanical, electrical, and code reviews. The scope and reporting structure should match the building and proposed conversion.
Calgary’s application process asks applicants to disclose known technical, structural, and environmental information. Owners commonly use this early due diligence to define project scope before committing capital.
The Barron Building illustrates cost-escalation risk on a heritage conversion
Strategic Group’s Barron Building, a 118-suite conversion, was initially estimated at $50 million to $55 million. Reported estimates later rose to $115 million as construction proceeded, more than double the low end of the original range. That $115 million figure was a reported estimate at the time, not necessarily the project’s final delivered cost.
The developer attributed the delays and cost growth to unforeseen construction and engineering complexities tied to the building’s age and dated existing drawings. Design changes, including a widened elevator and added underground parking, also contributed. In 2024 reporting, a representative of contractor Con-Forte said the company was owed $327,000 after payments stopped; this is a reported payment dispute rather than an adjudicated debt finding.
By late 2025, Strategic Group said it had caught up on contractor payments. Owners evaluating a similar heritage conversion should confirm the Barron Building’s current completion and occupancy status directly with the developer or City.
The Barron Building record shows how conditions discovered during design and construction can affect more than direct trade costs. Circulation and parking changes can alter schedules and contractor obligations, and changes to building systems can affect the amount of capital required to complete a residential conversion.
Closing the feasibility gap often requires blended financing
The gap between office-conversion costs and a building’s stabilized value is not incidental; Calgary’s own analysis treats it as the central obstacle facing many otherwise suitable projects, even after the standard per-square-foot incentive.
Recent program projects illustrate how developers have closed that gap. Rather than relying on the City incentive alone, they have combined it with federal financing programs and developer equity.
Owners should confirm current terms and eligibility directly with the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) and the City’s Downtown Strategy team, since federal program names and terms have changed over time. A construction defects review during due diligence can also surface conditions that widen this gap before financing is finalized.
Planning a conversion around Calgary’s program
Calgary’s Downtown Office Conversion Program most recently accepted applications from June 16 to July 27, 2026. The program is not currently accepting new applications, and owners should check the City’s program page or contact the Downtown Strategy team directly for updates on future intakes.
Contact us to discuss a specific building’s conversion potential.
Frequently asked questions about Calgary’s office conversion program
How have conversions affected downtown office inventory?
Calgary’s Downtown Office Conversion Program has supported 21 projects representing 2.68 million square feet of planned office-to-residential conversion, about 45% of the City of Calgary’s ten-year target of removing 6 million square feet of office space. Completed projects account for a smaller share of that total, with roughly 800 homes delivered by mid-2026.
What planning and zoning changes allowed conversions?
Calgary’s Downtown Office Conversion Program primarily uses per-square-foot financial incentives rather than a citywide rezoning. Projects must still comply with applicable land-use, development-permit, building-code, and other approval requirements on a project-specific basis.
When is demolition more feasible than conversion?
Demolition or redevelopment of an office building may be considered when office-to-residential conversion cannot deliver adequate unit yield, code compliance, or economic return. A feasibility study should compare conversion, partial conversion, renovation, sale, and redevelopment scenarios rather than assuming conversion is always the lower-cost path.
This article is intended to provide general information and insights into prevailing industry practices. It is not intended to constitute, and should not be relied upon as, legal, technical, or professional advice. The content does not replace consultation with a qualified expert or professional regarding the specific facts and circumstances of any particular matter.