Architects love this kind of mandate: Dare to be different.

When developer Matco Investments wanted a plan for office towers to replace Calgary’s downtown Penny Lane, the company asked for a uniquely Calgary building, says Wade Gibbs of Gibbs Gage Architects.

Matco didn’t want something you could necessarily see in Toronto or New York.

“He wanted something that could fit with the region and the site,” says Gibbs. So the design team brought the mountains and glaciers to Calgary.

Larry MacDougal photo, Business Edge
Two office towers will rise in place of the former Penny Lane Mall on 9th Ave.

When a lead tenant is signed, up to 1.7 million sq. ft. of office space will rise in two towers at 9th Avenue and 5th Street S.W.

Archie Roberts, CEO of Intex Consulting Corp., which is assisting the owner as project manager, says a 700,000-sq.-ft. lease would be enough to start construction.

“But that’s an order of magnitude, not an exact number,” he adds.

Wade Gibbs

Gibbs says the towers are designed as 43 storeys and 29 storeys, and could be built at different times depending on leasing. Total cost would be about $250 million.

A major aspect of the development will be retail at grade level on the 8th Avenue side.

“Why do office tower lobbies have to be at grade and the street is dead?” he asks. “If you put the lobby at Plus-15, you can keep the street for retail and restaurants.”

The urban design aspect was part of the challenge. The Penny Lane Towers site is on a major traffic access to downtown, the eastbound route on 9th Avenue S.W. There is a major pedestrian access through the 5th Street subway. The 8th Avenue side has retail activity and street life.

“Those three things put a lot of pressure on urban design issues,” he says.

A major open space is on the corner of 9th Avenue and 5th Street S.W. It leads up towards the indoor winter
garden. The main lobby for the two office towers is on the Plus-15 level, leaving retail at grade on the 8th Avenue side.

“It replaces the life on the street that was Penny Lane,” says Gibbs.

The buildings will have a mountain view to the west and south, so the smooth face toward the west is glass, tinted to match Lake Louise.

The ends of the buildings towards the Beltline will present the grey-and-black aspect of shifting plates, appearing rather mountainous. The eastern face will have more granite to fit with Bankers Hall.

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A Calgary real estate and land development company has taken another step towards restructuring into a real estate investment trust (REIT).

TGS Properties Ltd named independent directors Donald W. Black and Thomas F. Bugg to review a proposed reorganization of the company and formation of a REIT.

Management had earlier considered the company’s options with various advisers, including investment bankers, says Sheryl Fox, vice-president of investor relations. The review by the two independent directors will ensure that what is done is in shareholders’ interests, she says.

The proposal is intended to increase shareholder value.

There is a trend in the industry to form REITs or privatize public real estate companies, notes Fox.

“It’s tough to raise money as a real estate operating company, and that is critical for expansion,” she says.

Some properties in the TGS portfolio, such as the Three Sisters mountain village at Canmore, would remain in TGS Properties Ltd. if the REIT plan were approved. It’s a land development rather than a property with a fixed stream of monthly rents going towards yield distributions, she notes.

TGS Properties owns real estate and land developments in Western Canada and the western U.S.

Last month, it reported first-half financial results ahead of the first half of 2001. Second-quarter figures were below 2001 on revenue and funds from operations, which TGS attributed to land sales at Three Sisters Creek varying from quarter to quarter.

Highlights for the half included $4.8 million in land sales at Three Sisters Creek and the $9.1-million sale of Coronation Centre in Edmonton for a $1.8-million book gain.

For the first six months of this year, TGS had revenue of $23.5 million, net earnings of $2.2 million and funds from operations of $3.3 million.

For the second quarter, revenue was $12.3 million, net earnings $1.5 million and FFO of $2 million.

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Imperial Equities Inc. has announced a normal course issuer bid to buy back up to five per cent of its shares.

The bid will run from Sept. 6 this year to Sept. 6, 2003, unless it is completed earlier. The shares will be bought for cancellation, increasing the proportionate interest of remaining shareholders.

Imperial said it doesn’t believe its share price reflects the company’s value.

The Edmonton-based company specializes in development and redevelopment of commercial and industrial real estate.