FIRST TOWER SHOWS THAT THERE’S PLENTY OF LIFE LEFT IN CORE
Commercial real estate agents who specialize in downtown office leasing have obviously had a challenging time thanks to the high vacancy rate in Calgary’s core. Yet national and international companies still have the confidence to invest in this city, presenting opportunities to show attractive spaces to prospective tenants.
Warren Libert-scott, senior vice-president at JLL, is working hard as lead with his team of downtown specialists in presenting the redeveloped First Tower for Hines.
Managing director for Hines Canada, Syl Apps, says the company believes strongly in Calgary and is looking to continue to build its portfolio of both office and residential properties in the city.
Currently, it has approximately 50 people on staff in Calgary who manage more than three million square feet of office space — including the two-tower complex of Eighth Avenue Place — and has under construction the first phase of two highrise residential towers between 11th and 12th avenues at 4th Street S.W. Upon completion, they will provide around 1,000 residential units in the beltline district.
Hines owns the 120,000-square-foot, eight-storey Prospect Place office building adjacent to the Calgary Petroleum Club and purchased the 27-storey building spread between 4th and 5th avenues at 1st Street S.E., which has been renamed from Telus to First Tower, recognizing its location on the part of the street it shares with The Delta Bow Valley Hotel.
Libert-scott says the location is a big factor in his presentations. He says there is a reawakening of the east side of downtown with significant office buildings like The Bow and Brookfield Place and renovations to others such as The Edison and Bow Valley Square. First Tower overlooks the new developments in East Village and via the Plus 15 takes you into the newly renovated Delta Bow Valley and across 5th Avenue to The Bow and into Suncor Energy Centre and myriad other elevated walkways throughout downtown.
First Tower is well-serviced by transit and is only two short blocks away from the upgraded Riverwalk.
Acquired in 2018 from H&R REIT, which had completed a $25-million upgrade to the building, Hines has committed another $20-million capital upgrade to convert it into class-a office space. This includes the development of key common areas allowing Hines to offer tenants significant value for their rent and materially improve the activation and user experience of the building.
The tower has 350 heated underground parking stalls available at a very competitive core rate and along 5th Avenue plans are for an “end-of-trip” facility where people cycling to work can securely store their machines at grade, take a shower and change into office clothes.
The most significant changes for tenants will be seen on the 42,000-square-foot Plus 15 level, where Hines is installing a conference centre and a 9,000-square-foot fitness and wellness facility for use of all tenants at no cost.
Also on the same level, tenants will have the use of an expansive employee lounge with food services and outdoor terrace areas on both the south and west sides.
The entire floor space on the third level is to be dedicated to a premium co-working space equipped with first-class business amenities, services and technologies. It’s available to anyone; but Apps says his tenants get priority should they require temporary additional space.
Typical floor plates measure out to around 26,200 square feet and Libert-scott says 377,000 square feet is available, including 200,000 square feet of contiguous space and the top floor that offers spectacular views of the city and beyond.
The crown of the tower is also a blank page for key tenant signage — a great branding opportunity.
Hines is a company with a presence in 219 cities across 23 countries; we are fortunate it is such a believer in Calgary.
Good to see that Ray Abbott, a veteran of the moving business, is spending a lot of time back in Calgary after a few years living in B.C. Abbott has accepted the position as vice-president of sales and corporate development at Tippett-richardson, responsible for Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary offices, so will no doubt be eating his lunches again at La Brezza Ristorante in Bridgeland.