The conversion of Calgary’s historic Barron Building will be completed in spite of drastic unexpected cost increases, says Strategic Group’s CEO.

The downtown Calgary site is slated to be converted to multi-residential from office. But Strategic paused the project earlier this year due to higher than expected costs, even though the city has committed $8.5 million of funding.

“I didn’t realize the complexities of this particular conversion are just really significant … but we are going to get it done,” Riaz Mamdani, Calgary-based Strategic’s CEO, told Postmedia.

Costs have more than doubled to $115 million from $50 million to $55 million. Several contractors were not paid for their services, according to previous reports. But he told Postmedia that most contractors have been paid.

However, “a few” other contractors may need to be dealt with in the courts.

Built in 1951, the Barron Building was Calgary’s first skyscraper at a time when Alberta’s oil and gas industry was in its infancy.

Mamdani told Postmedia that revised

Plans called for the conversion of the property at 610 8th Avenue S.W. to be completed this year But delays have postponed the completion date to 2026, according to Postmedia.

The Barron Building is slated to have 118 modern residential rental suites spanning 100,688 square feet. Retail units comprising 8,580 sf would be included in the project.

The city will not provide the $8.5 million until the conversion is complete and an occupancy permit is issued, according to the Postmedia report. The municipal funding is not bein supplied through the city’s downtown building-conversion program, the report also states.

The city paused the program after agreeing to contribute to 17 projects, because the budget was exhausted.

Strategic is seeking city approval for several modifications to the original plan, but most of the requested changes would not be discernible to the naked eye and they are focused on the building’s “non-historic” exterior components.

The magnitude of the project’s complexity has caught Mamdani off guard.

“We struggle finding the good [news] some days, but we’re excited,” he told Postmedia. “We’re confident this isn’t a cursed project.”

If the city grants a building permit, the project could resume 45 to 60 days afterward, according to Postmedia.