PBA Group and Concord Hospitality have started to convert a former 12-storey downtown Calgary office building into a hotel.

Demolition has been completed and construction is underway, said Calgary-based PBA in a news release.

Known as the Canadian Centre, the 42-year-old building is located 833 4th Avenue S.W. The development is the first hospitality project being constructed as part of the City of Calgary’s Downtown Development Incentives Program (DIP), which provides funding to convert unused office spaces to other uses.

The Canadian Centre is slated to become a 226-suite Element Hotel by Westin. The hotel will include extended-stay units.

“We’re honoured to help take one of the first steps in transforming our downtown into a differentiated residential and recreational district that serves as a symbol of progressive inner city planning with this conversion,” said James Scott, Calgary-based PBA’s senior vice-president of planning and development.

The project will remove 170,000 square feet of surplus office space from the city’s core, according to PBA. Amenities will include a 12th-floor upscale restaurant, shared kitchen and living room areas, meeting rooms and a fitness centre.

PBA and Raleigh, N.C.-based Concord plan to use recycled materials in the building’s design and construction, diverting 65% of the project’s demolition waste from a landfill.

The new hotel will also conserve water throw low-low fixtures, offer electric-vehicle charging stations and loan bikes.

“Projects like this will help inject vitality into the community and contribute to Calgary’s reputation as a global city,” said Scott.

The conversion project’s completion is slated for the summer of 2025.

Image: CNW Group/PBA