CityScout 2024: Lessons From Calgary

By Tobias Strohe

Last month, I had the pleasure of joining the Downtown Denver Partnership and ULI Colorado, alongside 60 prominent members of our downtown business community, on a trip to Calgary to experience first-hand how the city responded boldly to the challenges it faced with a series of programs that are transforming its urban environment. 

First experiencing widespread office vacancy in 2014 following an energy industry downturn, Calgary has had a head start on many other cities in configuring its pioneering approach to reducing office vacancies and increasing vibrancy downtown. Here are my top takeaways from this enlightening trip and the opportunities I see for applying these lessons in our own city.

Transformation Requires Bold Action & Public/Private Collaboration

When oil prices plummeted in 2014, Calgary saw widespread office vacancies. While the city had seen downturns before, everyone said this one felt different. Rather than waiting out what could be a painfully long cycle, Calgary took proactive measures to address the issue head-on and eliminate six million square feet of what they determined to be excess office space. Through a collaborative effort between the private sector and city leadership collectively working towards a singular goal, Calgary implemented an office conversion incentive program that reinvigorated its downtown core. They painted a clear and concise picture of the consequences of inaction on their community and rallied stakeholders all over the city to act. Together, they created an incentive program that turned buildings no one wanted to occupy into in-demand opportunities for developers.

The importance of collaboration and the opportunity for a creative reimagining of the built environment resonated deeply with my own experiences at JNS. With our most recent adaptive reuse project, Art Studios, we saw the transformative impact such projects can have on both the physical landscape and the community. Implementing projects like this on a broader scale and eliminating Denver’s own obsolete office space will require a significant and sustained effort to streamline and incentivize conversions.

Revitalizing Neighborhoods: The East Village Success Story

The transformation of Calgary’s East Village from a neglected area to a vibrant neighborhood is a great example of the power of strategic planning and investment, but it’s also a great example of the power of exceptional design in civic spaces. Through the formation of the Calgary Municipal Land Corporation (CMLC) and the implementation of Canada’s first Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district, the East Village underwent a remarkable renaissance in just a decade.

Our own experiences align closely with this narrative. The redevelopment of Denver’s Union Station proved exactly how thoughtful development and design can revitalize or even define entire neighborhoods, paving way for the thriving LoDo community we see every day. By incorporating elements of placemaking, sustainability and accessibility into our projects, we aim to foster lively, inclusive spaces where people can live, work and connect.

In addition to strategic planning and investment, a crucial aspect of revitalizing urban areas like Calgary's East Village is ensuring that public spaces are inclusive and accessible to all members of the community. This means lowering security barriers to public buildings like libraries, diversifying the types of events held in public spaces, making cultural experiences more accessible by offering free entry to art museums and other institutions, etc. By doing so, cities not only create a welcoming environment for residents from all walks of life but also encourage people to better utilize spaces that already exist.

Looking Ahead: Shaping Denver’s Downtown Future

As we reflect on our time in Calgary, it’s clear that there are valuable insights we can apply to Downtown Denver’s ongoing evolution.

The biggest takeaway from this trip was the importance of fostering collaboration and consensus among stakeholders. Just as Calgary’s success relied on partnership between the private and public sectors, so too must we rally around a shared vision for Downtown Denver’s future. And the time for cultivating that shared vision is now.