What could get built on the former YWCA site in downtown Calgary
A prime plot of real estate in Calgary’s downtown is still up for grabs.
The site where the YWCA was located, 320 5th Avenue SE, was relisted earlier this year after plans to turn the block into a neighbourhood in the inner city never came through.
The land has been zoned to allow a wide range of mixed-use projects, which can be anything from rental, condo, hotel, and a wide variety of commercial uses, up to 20 floor area ratio (FAR) — and there’s been a lot of interest from Vancouver developers.
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“We’re marketing this site, sort of as a blank canvas,” Mark Goodman, a principal of Vancouver-based Goodman Commercial Inc. that’s been slated to sell the land, told Daily Hive Urbanized.
Mark Goodman, a real estate broker at Goodman Commercial Inc. (Mark Goodman)
“Right now, in Vancouver, it’s very challenging to get anything off the ground.”
The site would allow for a density of 20 times the 123,275 sq ft of space, meaning there are around 2,465,500 sq ft of buildable space.
Preliminary architectural studies, Goodman said, support a mixed-use project with four high-rise towers, however, any and all options are on the table.
A rendering of what could be built on the land at 320 Fifth Avenue Southeast in downtown Calgary. (Henriquez Partners Architects)
The plot of land is a full city block between Fourth Avenue SE and Fifth Avenue SE, just east of the downtown core and on the western edge of East Village.
“Calgary, it’s a breath of fresh air,” Goodman said.
“It’s a lot easier to get developments going, and there’s a lot of capital and developers leaving Vancouver and looking for greener pastures, namely Calgary.”
The land was initially sold to Toronto firm Great Gulf for $45 million in 2015. That money helped the YWCA buy its new facility in Inglewood.
A rendering of towers that could be built on the land at 320 Fifth Avenue Southeast in downtown Calgary. (Henriquez Partners Architects)
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