Old Edmonton YMCA building to be transformed into collaborative space
or more than six decades, Edmonton's downtown YMCA provided accommodation for those of limited means, alongside an aging fitness facility and dated office space. Then, in 2016, bosses declared the building and its operations were no longer financially viable and the wheels were set in motion to shut it down.
Many assumed the boxy, Brutalist structure would be demolished and replaced with something modern. But the 75,000-square-feet building was spared the wrecking ball thanks to a $3.5-million deal with Beljan Development, a local firm that believes the structure still has a future. It will invest $20-million in repurposingit over the coming year.
"It's a challenging project for sure due to its size and layout. This is our biggest adaptive re-use task to date in terms of floor-space," founder Ivan Beljan says. "But we're excited to reinvigorate it and bring it back to the public with some unique concepts befitting the current trend towards a sharing economy and collaborative spaces as well as a new apartment rental option for the city."
Many expected the old YMCA building to be demolished and replaced with something modern.
The deal with Beljan was put together in 2016. The YMCA of Northern Alberta then spent 18 months rehousing 120 tenants, half of whom had lived there longer than two years and some of whom had been residents for more than two decades.
Beljan took possession in December, 2017, and an extensive internal and external renovation commences this month, with local architects Hodgson Schilf Evans at the helm. Mr. Beljan estimates that demolition and abatement work will be complete by March and the building, rebranded Williams Hall for the English philanthropist and founder of the YMCA, Sir George Williams, will be open by the second quarter of 2019.
The developer's vision will transform the ground floor of the building, which is currently a fitness facility and office space, into a street-level food hall where a dozen individual chefs and restaurants will work together to create a collaborative dining and social space for the public.
A rendering of the street-level food hall, envisioned as a collaborative dining and social space.
On the second floor, they'll apply the same format to a health and fitness space, accessible via the Pedway – Edmonton's downtown enclosed pathway system – where independent operators will create a unique wellness destination. Above that, a boutique office space will bring small businesses together with shared facilities. The remaining floors will house 100 micro apartments.
"The apartments will be studio, one or two-bedroom ranging from 240 square feet to 450 square feet with no parking. They'll have integrated smart furniture where things will pull out and flip over so we anticipate they'll appeal to people looking for a minimalist lifestyle, downtown," Mr. Beljan says. "We'll be aiming to keep rent below the $1,000 mark."
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