It's been three months since we last checked in on construction of CapitalStrategic Group's office-to-residential conversion project, and the project has been moving along steadily since then. The construction crane was dismantled this weekend, and while on site capturing photos of the event, SkyriseEdmonton was invited to take a quick peek inside the buildings.

Crane removal between the buildings, photo by Dave Sutherland

The KENNEDY-designed project involved converting the former 12-storey, 1976-built Centre West office building into 154 one- and two-bedroom residential units, while expanding to the north with a new wood-framed 60-unit residential building, which sits atop an expansion of the underground parking structure.

Inside a suite in the new building, photo by Dave Sutherland

"It was a big challenge to adapt the old office building for residential living," says Sameer Hirani, site supervisor with Strategic Group. "We kept almost all of the original structure, though, including most of the existing windows."

The new main entrance between buildings, photo by Dave Sutherland

Constructing balconies for the former office structure was a particular challenge, according to Hirani: "We had to bring all the materials on site, hoist them up to the roof where we fabricated each balcony individually. We then lowered each one back down and had to hold it in place while crews attached it to the structure."

Finished balconies, photo by Dave Sutherland

One of the most unusual challenges was finding an old tree stump that predates the construction project, under one of the planters fronting the building. "We tried to haul it out with heavy equipment, but it wouldn't budge," says Hirani. "We just had to leave it in place and work around it."

The stubborn tree stump, photo by Dave Sutherland

In addition to the 214 residential units, Capital is also bringing 5,800 square-feet of retail space to the Government District. Construction is expected to be completed this spring.

Crane boom is lowered to the street, photo by Dave Sutherland

SkyriseEdmonton will continue to follow this project as it nears completion. More images and photos can be found in our project Database entry linked below. What do you think of Capital? Leave a comment below, or join the conversation in our Forum!