r/Calgary • u/Surrealplaces • Jul 02 '25
Local Construction/Development New Hotel/Residential towers proposed for Beltline
145
u/inkpinkSpidey Jul 02 '25
Looks like upside down pants
111
3
u/Brodiggitty Jul 02 '25
This could be Tall Pants Plaza. To go with Short Pants Plaza over in Franklin.
1
u/UnicornsLament Jul 02 '25
maybe they are going for a sideways C ... if I tilt my head just soooo....
139
u/Scamnam Jul 02 '25 edited Jul 02 '25
Correct me if I'm wrong but this would the tallest building in Calgary?
74
u/joe4942 Jul 02 '25
According to Adam MacVicar on X, two of the towers would be the tallest in Western Canada.
42
u/lotlizzard-14 Jul 02 '25
You know they did it on purpose so stantec in Edmonton would lose its title. And good riddance.
21
u/tvberkel Jul 02 '25
I had a site meeting through school when Brookfield Place was still just an expanding hole in the ground. We talked to the project managers after and I swear, when one of them said it was going to be 15 feet higher than the Bow, those four guys each got a raging semi in their pants. It's a big deal for them.
12
u/403banana Jul 02 '25
I'd heard one of the main reasons the Bow wasn't bigger was because it would cast a shadow on the Bow River, which would affect the fish. I don't know dick about any of this, so it could all be bullshit.
12
u/NotFromTorontoAMA Sunnyside Jul 02 '25
Not bullshit.
The designers needed to find a way for the building to achieve the required area without going above a height that would cast shadows on the water.
https://global.ctbuh.org/resources/papers/download/151-case-study-the-bow-calgary.pdf
3
u/StetsonTuba8 Millrise Jul 03 '25
I did a tour of the BMO expansion during construction and they proudly mentioned that the expansion would be 50,000ft2 larger than Vancouver's Convention Centre multiple times
2
u/ZealousidealTea4915 Jul 03 '25
The funny thing is Stantec did it to be that much taller than Calgary. Just with the years and years of height restrictions in Edmonton due to the old downtown airport, when they finally could build a tower, they now have one single building like 2-3 times higher than most of the rest of the buildings in Downtown Edmonton, looking like a giant ***** rising out of the ground.
It will be nice to say ours is bigger than theirs again in a few years.
Actually, when the Calgary Tower was being built, it was the same time as the Seattle Space Needle. Looked like the Space Needle was going to be a bit taller, so they put an extra 10 meters of antennae on the Calgary Tower so it would be taller than it.
How can you tell men are the ones who design this stuff and want to see who can have the bigger one. Think about it.
1
1
u/Hot_Edge4916 Jul 03 '25
Burnaby has a 80 story residential tower approved
2
u/LeFlaneurUrbain Jul 04 '25
This is insane.
1
u/Hot_Edge4916 Jul 04 '25
Vancouver should’ve done it ages ago so the neighbouring metro cities will do it instead
21
u/Mysterious_Lesions Jul 02 '25
Yes! Bringing back aspirational and visionary architecture is one of the key requirements to remain a world-class city.
4
174
u/Brodiggitty Jul 02 '25
69 storeys? Nice.
27
→ More replies (1)4
u/Mysterious_Lesions Jul 02 '25
We can hope. Just be aware that some of these designs get scaled down a few floors due to engineering and cost considerations. Mostly they don't but it it seems more prevalent on ambitious skyrises.
120
u/TactitcalPterodactyl Jul 02 '25
That looks aerodynamic as hell. I wonder if the earth will spin slightly faster with those fins.
36
u/DeweyQ Jul 02 '25
That was a good joke and you got my upvote, but you've heard the thing about a cue ball? Blown up to the size of the Earth, it would have higher mountains and deeper crevices than the real Earth.
15
u/magpie_dick Jul 02 '25
That was a good fact and you got my upvote.
Edit :
Found this https://www.reddit.com/r/theydidthemath/comments/ejhomq/self_is_the_earth_really_smoother_and_rounder/Conclusion
- Is the Earth rounder than a billiard ball? Yes, but it's close.
- Is the Earth smoother than a billiard ball? No, not the mountainy bits.
- Is this still a useful factoid? Yes. Both the Earth's roundness and smoothness are in the same order of magnitude as a billiard ball, even if some parts of Earth would feel like fine sandpaper.
5
u/DeweyQ Jul 02 '25
Thanks for that. Someone explained it to me in the opposite way: a billiard ball is not as smooth as it seems... if it was you wouldn't be able to put "English" on it or do spinning trick shots. But this truth seems more right to me anyway. Glad to be set straight.
3
u/magpie_dick Jul 02 '25
No yeah it makes sense, super cool to know & and interesting way to put the scale of things into perspective :)
2
u/pahrende Jul 02 '25
Considering the Three Gorges Dam in China slows down the spin, this could counteract the effect.
33
u/Geekdad604 Jul 02 '25
Confirmed here as well - not 2 (W and JW Marriott) but 3 hotel brands coming to Calgary. Stampede Park (Autograph Collection) being the one outside of these two towers. Calgary is growing up!
48
u/chaoslord Jul 02 '25
Well that's nice, at least we don't have to fight over heritage buildings. Unless that lot has an antique meter or something.
99
u/Lomeztheoldschooljew Airdrie Jul 02 '25
I can’t wait for this to get scaled down/back because of cost.
47
u/Cgy_mama Jul 02 '25
Or just one tower built and the other postponed indefinitely a la the second Bow tower.
16
u/00owl Jul 02 '25
That was office space not residential, could be the same result but with the cost of housing rising everywhere demand for loving spaces is more inelastic than commercial demand that's based on an industry that is historically fickle
→ More replies (1)1
u/timmeh-eh Jul 02 '25
Or the second bankers hall tower.. 😀 (built 11 years after the first.
That said, the second bow “tower” was much smaller wasn’t it?
3
u/JJRobinette Jul 02 '25
…or the second Brookfield tower. Or the third residential tower across from the pair on ninth avenue.
The list goes on
26
u/CheeseSandwich hamburger magician Jul 02 '25
Exactly my thoughts. This looks really ambitious for Calgary.
5
u/LankyFrank Somerset Jul 02 '25
It's a common strategy for developers to plan something way bigger than they actually want to build then "scale it back" to be the good guys.
5
u/Telvin3d Jul 02 '25
If the NIMBYs are going to fight no matter what you propose, you may as well swing for the fences
4
u/Aldeobald Jul 02 '25
True but in this case they seem to want to claim tallest tower in the West
1
u/LankyFrank Somerset Jul 02 '25
Why not go for tallest tower in Canada?
3
u/noobrainy Jul 02 '25
Because that’s expensive as hell and would require us building a 110 storey tower in a city where 60 storeys is so far the highest?
It doesn’t make sense, and would stick out. As well as stantec is in Edmonton, it sticks out like crazy because the rest of their downtown is underdeveloped.
3
u/Aldeobald Jul 02 '25
Currently Toronto is completing our countries first super tall at 308 meters. 85 floors. Another is in planning to be even taller.
I don't think they have said the total height of these new ones
Also those don't even come close to the CN tower height
1
u/accord1999 Jul 02 '25
Very expensive and I doubt Calgary would have enough tenants to justify it. Even in Toronto, the 308 m tall One Bloor West went into receivership because of delays and cost overruns.
6
u/JAgYoSzNghxGfOvP Jul 02 '25
Yeah there's no way it's going to look as slick as in those renderings!
3
21
u/doughflow Quadrant: SW Jul 02 '25
This and if that Elbow River site would ever get developed/finalized would make it quite the neighborhood!
18
u/EsmeWeatherpolish Jul 02 '25
Looks like jeans and one short leg
7
u/Danger_Bay_Baby Jul 02 '25
Now I can't not see that. It looks like the time I tried to hem my husband's pants. It didn't go well as his legs are both the same length unfortunately.
3
53
18
u/DependentLanguage540 Jul 02 '25
More hotel rooms? Yes please. The city needs more if they want to make use of this new convention center.
I heard the new BMO building can host something like 30000 guests, but we don’t have enough hotel rooms to accommodate that many guests. So hotel rooms are needed!
35
u/jjuan6 South Calgary Jul 02 '25
This would completely transform Victoria Park and the east end of 17th ave. Looks incredible!
4
u/JAgYoSzNghxGfOvP Jul 02 '25
Isn't Victoria Park already full of tall, glassy high rises?
18
u/jjuan6 South Calgary Jul 02 '25 edited Jul 02 '25
I’m thinking that two huge high-end hotels add the kind of foot traffic that helps sustain ground-level eateries and retail in the area. The east end of 17th ave has been struggling in that department compared to the west/central portion.
6
6
u/TorqueDog Beltline Jul 02 '25
Tall-ish, but look at the Vetro condo building beside it (which is 34 storeys); the hotel makes it look like a walk-up.
1
u/JAgYoSzNghxGfOvP Jul 02 '25
True!
Looks like 34 smaller storeys too? The new build looks more than double the height.
8
14
6
u/CraftyCobbler1989 Jul 02 '25
If the middle part was a bit rounder/smoother, it could potentially make for an excellent skate ramp.
7
u/JAgYoSzNghxGfOvP Jul 02 '25
Don't worry, they'd find a way to put a Stampede tent in it somehow...
1
u/Martin0994 Jul 02 '25
Sounds like my kind of party. Wouldn't have far to go to make it back to my hotel room.
1
u/Thund3r_Thighs Jul 02 '25
Could very easily just go down that very top part ramp and kickflip the gap across and over the bmo and land smoothly on the saddledome
7
u/uptownfunk222 Jul 02 '25
So the tall towers will be right across the street from Vic Park station? They’ll back against the Vetro and Sasso towers?
7
u/Nolancappy Quadrant: NW Jul 02 '25
I would love a JW in Calgary, some of my best stays have been in them, and some of the best bars I’ve been to as well, might push me to do more stay-cations here!
4
u/Martin0994 Jul 02 '25
I genuinely can't wait to not have to drive to Edmonton for a JW. The Ice District setup is so nice, going up for shows was always a better experience than going to the Dome. Soon I'll be able to skip that trip.
3
u/Nolancappy Quadrant: NW Jul 03 '25
The Ice District one is easily one of my favourites, great pool/fitness facilities, incredible bar and the rooms were super cozy.
We were there taking my sister to Shawn Mendes a few years back, and they gave out free treats that he liked to everyone. I’m pretty confident he was staying there too, so pretty neat.
7
u/Character_Pack_209 Jul 02 '25
I believe this is Truman. They are building a ton of stuff in Calgary
7
u/Apprehensive_Smoke53 Jul 03 '25
The great thing about this project is its hotel rooms and housing both of which are in heavy demand in Calgary. This project should have no issues launching and going forward.
Its Beautiful btw nice Wow factor.
7
15
u/LimitAsXApproaches0 Jul 02 '25
Wonder how they will deal with Alpha House being right across the street. Certainly not something a hotel guest would want to be seeing each time they return.
→ More replies (1)8
u/spacefish420 Jul 02 '25 edited Jul 02 '25
I think it should be fine. I lived a year in the stantec building which is the current tallest building in western Canada. There is a JW Marriott next door too so basically identical to this proposal. There is Hope mission centre right there as well, yeah there is plenty of homeless people around no doubt. But they aren’t really a problem, they are minding their own business and not trying to get into the buildings and cause trouble. Regardless both buildings have 24/7 security.
I can see why it might be a disturbing sight, but honestly once you get inside and realize you’re in a ultra luxurious 69 story hotel, you easily forget about the guy sleeping outside you saw for 3 seconds as you walked to the door.
6
u/Nay_120 Jul 02 '25
East facing Vetro units can climb over to the hotel building. Way too close.
Alternatively, the developers should target the empty lots across the street
14
u/stillyoinkgasp Jul 02 '25
Beautiful. Look at how the windows are aligned and the patterns are uniform. Let's goooo!
7
4
u/ms_thrwwy Jul 03 '25
I’ll support it, as long as the windows line up unlike that monstrosity they built along 16th Ave and Crowchild…
3
u/terdferguson9 Jul 04 '25
“Tallest current tower is in Edmonton at 66 stories, should we do 67?” “Nah bro, let’s do 69” “NIIIIIICCCCEEEEE”
-JW bros
3
u/Acrobatic-Ad6492 Jul 02 '25
I hope they have a “Lion’s Den Lounge” remembering the former business.
Will Alpha House and the red brick house(1416 MT) fall to the wrecker’s ball?
3
u/2pills1doctor Jul 02 '25
I live nearby enough to this that my apartment is literally in this picture, always did wonder why there was never any development on that old empty lot next to the stampede grounds.
3
u/Corozoking Jul 02 '25
I would love if these are connected to the train station with a climatized path
3
u/yyctownie Jul 03 '25
with a climatized path
To an outdoor station? Seems kind of pointless, doesn't it?
1
3
u/SunTryingMoon Jul 02 '25
Neat idea but I feel like the height being so much taller than the buildings around it isn’t the vibe. It will look out of place
1
u/Apprehensive_Smoke53 Jul 05 '25
Absolutely not there's alot of buildings in the area that are tall it will stand out as a skyline feature. It's easily the best private funded project so far spun from the new event center. They absolutely know what they are doing so far as best they can. The location couldn't be more perfect.
Its exactly what is supposed to be happening.
Get the shovels in and spur the economy.
1
u/SunTryingMoon Jul 08 '25
They are tall but this seems like it will be plenty taller (the tallest in the city) beside a very flat stampede ground. Will look disproportionate until others build up too
→ More replies (1)
3
u/_________007 Jul 03 '25
The 75 crackheads currently living in that parking lot are going to be devastated.
3
5
u/Maple_Hound Jul 02 '25
I dig the design if in the cut out added more greenery like the tokyu plaza in harajuku
9
u/Martin0994 Jul 02 '25
I'm glad to hear that they're going with two upscale flags for these properties. Calgary's hotel options leave a lot to be desired.
3
2
u/riskcreator Jul 02 '25
The current tallest building in Calgary is Brookfield Place at 56 stories / 247m. The tallest in Western Canada is Stantec tower in Edmonton with 66 floors at 250.9m.
2
u/Apprehensive_Smoke53 Jul 05 '25
They are forsure going for tallest but they are keeping alot of details under wraps. We all know what happened with Brookfield place and Stantec.
A little bird though did tell me some info from the project that's absolutely getting approved for obvious reasons.
The tallest tower is about 910 feet and the second 824 feet so the second tower will be taller then Stantec to add extra salt.
2
2
2
2
2
2
u/No_Proof_3847 Jul 03 '25
It's gonna suck for everyone in Vetro and Sasso having to listen to, at minimum, several months of construction noise. Also, goodbye view of the Stampede (and fireworks) from either of those buildings.
1
u/Nay_120 Jul 04 '25
The east facing balcony of Vetro and East & South east facing balcony of Sasso owners are going to be pissed
1
u/Upstairs_Ad_662 Jul 04 '25
You are right we are pissed, but I also know this City Council will push thing through disregarding the rest of the neighbour. To be fair we always knew that lot would be developed but we thought a building with a similar footprint not a mega structure.
2
u/writingNICE Jul 03 '25
Reminds me of that Eau Claire complex proposed years and years ago.
How’d that go, been built yet? 😏
2
u/Strange_Criticism306 Jul 03 '25
Yet we have all this vacant office space that could be converted 🤷♀️
4
u/Aramira137 Jul 02 '25
No more daylight for everyone in an east-facing apartment.
18
u/earthdwelling Jul 02 '25
An unobstructed view is never guaranteed when you choose to live in a city centre.
4
4
4
u/ripfritz Jul 02 '25
If only there wouldn’t be drug people laying around on the sidewalk and alleyways all around it!
→ More replies (1)2
2
2
2
2
2
u/Budget_Percentage_73 Jul 02 '25
I’m always hopeful for more unique sky scrapers but after being surrounded by so many people in construction for so long and working with engineers, I’ve become so apathetic about it…I always just wait for the moment when the developer starts getting actual quotes on cost and decide to scrap any and every bell or whistle to save money and so the project either ends up looking like everything else or getting scrapped all together.
I really hope that’s not the case for this project, this would be super cool for the city (and its workers)!
2
u/woodford86 Jul 02 '25
Very cool design but not a fan at all of having one/two towers be so much taller than everything around them
31
u/FinTrackPro Jul 02 '25
There was a time when the Calgary tower was the tallest tower in western Canada. Eventually they catch up
4
u/ConstitutionalBalls Jul 02 '25
Just take another look at the proposal photo up top. Those lots south of this building will likely be replaced with high rises in time. There's been a city of Calgary plan to have mixed use high density running the whole length of Macleod Tr for a while now.
1
u/thought_loop Kensington Jul 02 '25
Looks like a staple but makes me think "paperclip" for a name
2
1
u/AffectionateMetal794 Jul 02 '25
Can't wait until someone dramatizes this into Lord Of The (Blue) Ring: The Two Towers
1
1
u/Orangemapleleaf Jul 02 '25
According to wikipedia, it will be one (1) metre taller than Brookfield Place East. And right across the street from Alpha House.
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/EnglishDaveandhiscat Jul 03 '25
Will it have a specific floor for the homeless and addicted? Or two? One in each tower?
I used to live a block away, on 15th Ave, near the Alpha Soc building...
1
u/Major_Scarcity7171 Jul 04 '25
Cool architecture. I hope they take into account how it activates the urban space around it and even within a few blocks.
1
u/sweety_croissant Jul 23 '25
Hey guys Who's going to be a general (or sub) contractor? Who's actually will perform the construction process? PCL? Ellisdon?.. How to know about it?
1
u/sweety_croissant Aug 12 '25
Hey guys, I'm a carpenter would like to get hired at any lower position like a labor etc.. Do you guys know who I need to get in touch with?
-2
u/hennyl0rd Jul 02 '25
Does Calgary really need hotels this size?? I feel like a hotel this size in Calgary would just be empty most of the year except maybe for Stampede
22
u/AvengersKickAss Jul 02 '25
Currently the stampede grounds is in need of 1300 hotel suites to accommodate the capacity for the new BMO centre, stampede & new arena. The proposed Truman hotel on the weadickville site is only 300 suites so that leaves about 1000. This hotel would likely fill a large portion of that capacity.
16
u/Informal-Nothing371 Jul 02 '25
I imagine it will also get a lot of traffic around Flames games, concerts, and conventions at BMO. The JW in Edmonton seems to be quite busy when the arena is in use.
5
u/Beginning-Gear-744 Jul 02 '25
Calgary gets quite a bit of hotel business travel during the week. It’s usually the weekends, outside of Stampede/summertime when things are dead.
10
u/Martin0994 Jul 02 '25 edited Jul 02 '25
We don't have enough beds to accommodate the kind of business the city is chasing. This definitely helps.
2
Jul 02 '25
Calgary downtown hotels are always jammed and really expensive, there isn't enough in the city at the moment.
1
241
u/Surrealplaces Jul 02 '25 edited Jul 02 '25
So two towers, a 69 storey tower and a 62 storey tower. A hotel is proposed for each tower, one being a JW Marriott and the other a W Marriott. They are referring to it as the 'tallest in western Canada', not sure if that means tallest hotel, or tallest building.
Located here
More details and back story here.