A historic downtown Edmonton warehouse will anchor a 696-unit student-housing development after the city approved plans for four six-storey residential buildings.

ESH Housing plans to redevelop the Massey Ferguson Building site at 10616 103 Ave. NW and adjoining lands at 10609 104 Ave. NW. The project will incorporate the designated warehouse’s facades into the southern building while adding an underground parkade.

The two-storey warehouse was built in 1947 as a showroom and distribution centre for farm-equipment manufacturer Massey Harris, which later became Massey Ferguson. The property housed Healy Ford before the dealership relocated to Sherwood Park in 2011.

Edmonton designated the building a municipal historic resource in September 2025, recognizing its International-style architecture and its connection to the city’s postwar commercial growth.

Faction Architecture submitted the development application on behalf of ESH Housing. The city approved the development permit April 16, following an earlier permit for partial demolition, excavation and site remediation.

Plans call for study rooms on each floor, a fitness area, theatre room and rooftop terraces on two buildings. Two landscaped courtyards and a central pedestrian route would connect the complex.

The parkade is expected to contain between 123 and 126 vehicle stalls, while the project would provide 696 bicycle spaces.

The project would add substantial student-focused supply in a city where five major post-secondary institutions serve about 115,000 students but provide only about 6,000 residence beds, according to a 2026 city assessment. Construction is planned in two phases, with the first expected to be complete in 2028.