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

What do you think of this project?


  • Total voters
    57
I'm confused what people like about this building, it looks like a plain little 16 story box that you might find in a city like Regina. It has no unique aesthetics whatsoever and is completely disproportionate to the other two towers. It seems like a real missed opportunity to do something that compliments and completes Phase 1. Given the magnitude of this project I was really hoping for something more :(

I couldnt agree more. Without sounding negative and that is certainly not my intention, this is a nice clean building but is quite disappointing. We continue to lack architecturally significant or statement buildings in Edmonton and this one is no different. It is a simple plain glass box at best with what looks lie little thought to making a statement to the skyline that says "Edmonton is our roots". The height also makes it completely disproportionate to the other two buildings and not in a nice cascading step down kind of way.

While I am not complaining and I am happy to see something erected in this spot, I just believe this is underwhelming and could have been a lot more of a significant design (think curves or sloped roofs or anything just for example). Mixed feelings of happy but disappointed it isn't more.
 
While I would like it as much as anyone if every building we build going forward is 200+ meters I don't think that is what is best for downtown. We will get our tall buildings in projects like the new Alldritt tower but it's good at times to get something like this.

I might have the bar too low but I am just happy this is replacing that latest apartment render.
 
While I would like it as much as anyone if every building we build going forward is 200+ meters I don't think that is what is best for downtown. We will get our tall buildings in projects like the new Alldritt tower but it's good at times to get something like this.

I might have the bar too low but I am just happy this is replacing that latest apartment render.
I partially agree. No need for this tower to be 200m+, but it could very well sit on the 140 to 150 range, so it looks like it's part of the whole.
At this height (I estimate less than 65m) it will look out of place besides the JW Marriot and Stantec.
 
I don't see a problem with 2 different banks in the same building. Most people stick with their bank their whole lives. And if 2 different eateries can exist in the same building, why not 2 banks?
 
TD already has a branch at ICE District, specifically in the COE tower. Why would they move from ECC at this point?

I know RBC has a branch in COE tower, I wasn't aware of a TD.

I thought TD was opening another branch in Ice District where CWB is now going.

Who said anything about TD moving from ECC?
 
I don't see a problem with 2 different banks in the same building. Most people stick with their bank their whole lives. And if 2 different eateries can exist in the same building, why not 2 banks?

The issue isn't about two banks in the same building, it's more about what we would prefer to see fill up the CRU's in the Ice District and with CWB moving in now too I wouldn't mind if TD opted not to anymore leaving a space eventually for some other kind of business.
 
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 stated this before the news of the release. A few additional comments include:
1. as you can see in my quote I was hoping for a more creative Architectural Design Firm than Dialog (I once noted on this site back in the hay-days of Dave Sutherland that Dialog is an institutional designer and from a design perspective should change their name to monolog since they miss key ingredients in the relationship to "streets"). The design is not brute ugly as was their apartment design, but it ain't going to win any Architectural awards either.
2. I don't mind the height of the proposed tower-less tower because of the potential connection to a residential tower across the alley (if you look very closely at one of the renderings you will see a pedway connection leading to a new building -- not yet there -- on 104th street). It is more respectful scale-wise of the Arena building and the pedestrian plaza and the new tower to be announced soon on 104th street will restore the massing of the whole complex plus it will be a huge boon to 104th street in terms of pedestrian flow in a northward direction -- it might even get the other tower on the NE corner of 104 St. and 103rd Ave. moving. Katz' tower could be in the range of 40-50 storeys and could thereby amend all of the massing concerns currently missing and noted by other comments here.
3. I DO NOT like bank space occupying potential retail or hospitality space at grade level. CWB could have had all of their banking functions vis-a-vis public interaction on the 2nd floor, leaving the ground floor for retail and restaurants which would have improved their own aspect at the same time.
4. If CWB was truly aggressive it would have added about 6 more floors that could have been sub-let in the short run and built out as bank success meets bank success going forward.
 
4. If CWB was truly aggressive it would have added about 6 more floors that could have been sub-let in the short run and built out as bank success meets bank success going forward.
Does this mean that CWB is leasing the entire building? No wonder this is going ahead before the towers at Baccarat in that case, that's 16 floors of guaranteed income without the hassle of finding tenants.
 
Does this show how rough the market is right now? That we're only building 16 story office buildings in the core of our downtown amongst 25-66floor towers? I wouldn't mind this elsewhere, but these feels sort of lame. I think 25flrs minimum is needed to "fit" this area. 16 will be one of our shortest modern office towers, right next to the tallest tower in western canada.

I'm sure this is motivated by the market/money, but it makes me nervous. I would have rather seen a 16flr tower in phase 2 as part of the "step down" to the northern neighbourhoods. Mixed feelings overall.
 
I stated this before the news of the release. A few additional comments include:
1. as you can see in my quote I was hoping for a more creative Architectural Design Firm than Dialog (I once noted on this site back in the hay-days of Dave Sutherland that Dialog is an institutional designer and from a design perspective should change their name to monolog since they miss key ingredients in the relationship to "streets"). The design is not brute ugly as was their apartment design, but it ain't going to win any Architectural awards either.
2. I don't mind the height of the proposed tower-less tower because of the potential connection to a residential tower across the alley (if you look very closely at one of the renderings you will see a pedway connection leading to a new building -- not yet there -- on 104th street). It is more respectful scale-wise of the Arena building and the pedestrian plaza and the new tower to be announced soon on 104th street will restore the massing of the whole complex plus it will be a huge boon to 104th street in terms of pedestrian flow in a northward direction -- it might even get the other tower on the NE corner of 104 St. and 103rd Ave. moving. Katz' tower could be in the range of 40-50 storeys and could thereby amend all of the massing concerns currently missing and noted by other comments here.
3. I DO NOT like bank space occupying potential retail or hospitality space at grade level. CWB could have had all of their banking functions vis-a-vis public interaction on the 2nd floor, leaving the ground floor for retail and restaurants which would have improved their own aspect at the same time.
4. If CWB was truly aggressive it would have added about 6 more floors that could have been sub-let in the short run and built out as bank success meets bank success going forward.
45685F08-1832-492E-A53B-29E08A21B00C.jpeg
 
Does this show how rough the market is right now? That we're only building 16 story office buildings in the core of our downtown amongst 25-66floor towers? I wouldn't mind this elsewhere, but these feels sort of lame. I think 25flrs minimum is needed to "fit" this area. 16 will be one of our shortest modern office towers, right next to the tallest tower in western canada.

I'm sure this is motivated by the market/money, but it makes me nervous. I would have rather seen a 16flr tower in phase 2 as part of the "step down" to the northern neighbourhoods. Mixed feelings overall.

I'm a bit mixed, too, but if a 40+ storey tower is going up immediately behind this one I think that will provide the 'fit' you are looking for.

As @archited said, if CWB was truly bold they might have added a handful more floors to grow into.

Still, the fact that Edmonton is adding more office space at all right now is something. Vacancy rates are still pretty high and Stantec for one announced that only 50% of their office workers are coming back to the office which will leave some space in that building to fill not to mention the current CWB building among others.
 
CWB does not own the proposed building - ONE / Katz do. Why would anyone expect them to pay for excess space than they may require in the long term up front just to build a taller building.

Also wrt Dialog - I thought Shugarman out of Cowtown provided design guidance for Stantec and JR Marriott projects and Dialog possibly construction documents and had the construction admin role. I stand to be corrected.
 

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