Calgary Municipal Land Corporation (CMLC) has broken ground on a new parkade located on 9th Avenue and 3rd Street S.E. for the Calgary Parking Authority (CPA) and Platform (Zinc Ventures).
The approximately $80-million project will comprise seven levels with a 500+ stall parkade (and plenty of bike parking), plus a fully integrated 50,000 sq. ft. innovation centre, dubbed PLATFORM, that will be operated by Calgary Technologies Inc.
“This is a strategic future-focused development coming to life and just as we embraced the challenge of delivering a landmark Central Library, we embraced CPA’s need for more downtown parking and coupled it with the opportunity to create an innovative community hub,” says Michael Brown, CMLC’s president & CEO.
The 9th Avenue Parkade and Innovation Centre will integrate a 508-stall parkade on five levels, the Platform Innovation Centre, a ground floor café and an outdoor sport court – a combination of active public uses that will energize 9th Avenue SE and make far better use of a large land package previously serving as a surface parking lot.
Designed by architects Kasian and 5468796, the building’s design allows for future conversion of the space into commercial or residential uses through such considerations as increased floor to ceiling heights which are one and half times that of traditional parkades; a central atrium space that allows for natural light to penetrate through the building; and a responsible long-term approach that allows for the re-purposing of the existing building structure into future uses.
“Our objective at CPA is to provide parking structures that not only service today’s needs but have the ability, should the need arise, to convert into residential, commercial or mixed-use space as the future Calgary will likely be very different than the Calgary of today”, says Glen Furtado, general manager for CPA. “And this building is a prime example of that type of forward-thinking and strategy.”
With construction scheduled to be completed in fall 2020, Platform will be operated by Calgary Technologies Inc.—an organization that aims to accelerate the impact of innovation-driven ventures by providing access to space, programs, mentorship and capital.
“Having proven our capacity in vertical development with the new Central Library, we look eagerly forward to ‘going vertical’ again with the 9th Avenue Parkade and Platform,” says Brown, adding that the project has been mindfully designed to integrate into its surrounding neighbours of the new Central Library, Studio Bell and East Village community.
