Connect Centre | 56.3m | 16s | ONE Properties | DIALOG

What do you think of this project?

  • Total voters
    57
FrankRizza said:
CWB announced internally that they’re moving the Head Office to the Ice District in 2026 over a week ago and yet no public announcement. The renderings (outward facing) I saw looked like the building was facing south down 103rd street not the baccarat site
Click to expand...
Very interesting! Can you clarify what you mean by "facing south down 103 Street"? If that's not the Baccarat Site - where exactly?
 
Could it be... 1. the Tower that was planned all along to be residential is now being re-designed as an office tower for CWB? -- that would be desirable on so many fronts, or 2. that the land that Katz owns just west of the ICE district is a candidate for a new office structure?
 
If true, Frank, this is amazingly good news because it negates a poorly designed apartment tower in what would have been a prominent location (it would be great if the design for the new office tower landed with an architect other than dialog), it adds impetus to ICE District Phase 2, it will create a retail scramble for vacant space in the podium, and it will help cement a northwest corner for the Financial District in Edmonton. I don't foresee any negatives.
 
I believe it to be true but of course there’s a chance I’m wrong. I dont have any details on the exterior of the building or floor plates but In my perfect world, it would be about 200M and have a residential on top. The Bank will have signage though. That was important for them
 
archited, I agree with this assessment - and would think at this point Katz and ONE would prefer an office structure over residential. Do you recall what CWB had asked for in its RFP for space? This might give us some idea of what might be built at a minimum given the floor plates. This might evolve as a mixed use tower and also might explain the doors changes recently mentioned elsewhere? Obviously the business floors will require a better ground floor lobby than may previously have been planned,
 
^^^^ These are only guesses other than the fact that the structural footings are already in place so it will have to conform to that layout and the footing design subtended a structure of a certain height (somewhere in the forty storey range as I recall). Considering CWBs needs suggests to me that it will not be a mixed-use tower -- it will be all office all the way up. Katz will want this to propel final sales in the two other towers' residential floors -- he could now look at the lots west of the Connect Centre for an additional residential tower -- facing 104th Street and connected by pedway to the rest of the ICE District. It is not strange that there is no public announcement -- it is wanting to have a firm agreement in place (probably already done) and a new design commissioned (also probably done but not yet quite ready for "prime time").
 
Thanks for all this @FrankRizza . Can't wait to see what is announced.
I have to say it would be odd for the CWB to go in an office or mixed use tower at Connect Center. I assume that CWB would want their main branch to be on the main floor and TD Bank is already slated for the main floor, NE corner. I guess One Properties could move them elsewhere but if a lease is already signed then that would be tough to do. Or maybe TDs plans changed? Or maybe there will be two bank branches in Connect Center (although highly unlikely as neither bank would want that arrangement). One Properties still shows TD in that space in the leasing brochure on their website.
Looking forward to see how this all plays out.
 
archited said:
^^^^ These are only guesses other than the fact that the structural footings are already in place so it will have to conform to that layout and the footing design subtended a structure of a certain height (somewhere in the forty storey range as I recall). Considering CWBs needs suggests to me that it will not be a mixed-use tower -- it will be all office all the way up. Katz will want this to propel final sales in the two other towers' residential floors -- he could now look at the lots west of the Connect Centre for an additional residential tower -- facing 104th Street and connected by pedway to the rest of the ICE District. It is not strange that there is no public announcement -- it is wanting to have a firm agreement in place (probably already done) and a new design commissioned (also probably done but not yet quite ready for "prime time").
Click to expand...
I hope its a fresh design from a different architectural firm.
 
The CWB building is about 40 years old now (God I'm old That was the first project I ran.) so I could see CWB moving to a new one. I thought they would take over all the vacant space in the Stantec tower but then realised Scotia Bank has a large presents in that one.
 
EdmTrekker said:
I hope its a fresh design from a different architectural firm.
Click to expand...
I think (I am truly hoping) it would have to be a different design given its new intended purpose from residential to office. Only hope is that the design is significantly better than what was previously planned and is on par or better than what Stantec and JW turned out to be. That would be a nice statement.
 
Proposal is 16 storeys, 330,000 sq. ft. of all office:

bobo1.png
bobo2.png
bobo3.png
bobo4.png
bobo5.png
bobo6.png
 
You must log in or register to post here.

Back
Top