Housing crisis: the situation in Canada and South Africa
While France wants to "massively simplify standards" to revive real estate construction, Canada is converting offices into housing and...
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Leaders in Conversions
Strategic Group leads the Alberta market in conversions (also known as adaptive reuse) of aging office buildings into modern and vibrant residential and retail projects. We were the first to complete modern office-to-residential conversions in Alberta, and we continue to share our expertise across Canada with new projects here at home.
Why Conversions?
Better Environment
The most environmentally friendly building is the one you don’t demolish.
By transforming existing buildings, Strategic Group’s conversion projects have saved over 17,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions from going into the atmosphere—that’s the equivalent of taking 3,700 cars off the roads! Similarly, our conversions have saved more than 60,000 tons of demolition material from going to landfills.
Stronger Communities
Every office-to-residential conversion adds new life to our streets. A full residential and retail tower is a vibrant hub of activity compared to an empty office building.
Between our Calgary and Edmonton re-purposing projects, we have taken more than 500,000 square feet of derelict office space off the market and replaced it with much-needed housing.
Economic Resilience
Our cities are stronger when our downtowns are active with people who are there to live, work, and play.
By transforming empty offices into homes for people, we are diversifying our downtowns so people can create value in our community. Every office conversion is an investment in our downtowns, and Strategic Group is committed to our communities for the long-term.
Affordable Housing
Office-to-residential conversions are part of the solution to Canada's housing crisis.
Strategic Group has proven that converting old office towers into new multi-family housing can be done faster and more economically than constructing an entirely new residential tower. Money saved on construction can make rental prices more affordable for residents.
Award-Winning Projects
Cube
Completed in 2019, Cube was Calgary’s first office-to-residential conversion project in the city’s recent history. Located in Calgary’s vibrant inner city Beltline community, Cube was transformed from aging office space into 65 new one- and two-bedroom rental suites with street-level retail.
e11even
Just months after completing Cube in Calgary, we opened e11even in downtown Edmonton. At the time, this was the largest office-to-residential rental building in Alberta with 177 suites and a full host of modern amenities. e11even would be surpassed in scope and size just a year later by another Strategic Group conversion: Capital.
Capital
An ambitious project completed in 2021, Capital combines the conversion of an aging 13-storey office building with the newly built companion tower on top of a new underground parking lot. Additionally, Strategic Group undertook the difficult work of adding new balconies for each suite as part of the conversion. Located on Edmonton’s pedestrian-friendly Capital Boulevard, the project includes vibrant street-level retail.
Store and Go
One of Strategic Group’s first conversion projects, Store and Go is the result of transforming old, unused office space into a more functional use much-needed in downtown Calgary: self-storage. This is a perfect example of how Strategic Group is creative and unconventional in its approach to conversions—especially with a unique and challenging original building.
Avenida Food Hall & Fresh Market
In 2018, Strategic Group transformed a single-storey suburban office building into Calgary’s first European-style food hall combined with a farmers’ market. The 22,500 square foot office-to-retail conversion featured 42 local businesses and drew more than 7,000 visitors every weekend.
The Barron Building
After transforming empty, derelict office spaces into vibrant residential and retail buildings in both Calgary and Edmonton, Strategic Group is starting its most ambitious project yet: The Barron Building.
This unique project to transform the historic Barron Building from an empty heritage office tower into a modern residential rental community with vibrant street level retail. Built in 1951, this was Calgary’s first office skyscraper and it heralded the city’s future as an economic powerhouse. Together with The City of Calgary, we are preserving much of this important art deco/modern building as part of this conversion. New residents will call this home in 2024.
Contact Us
To connect with our development team and learn more about our office-to-residential conversions, please contact our head office at 403 770 2300 or info@strategicgroup.ca
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