EllisDon has been selected by the Calgary Municipal Land Corporation (CMLC) as the construction manager for the Arts Commons Transformation (ACT)—a major city-building initiative that will expand and modernize Western Canada’s largest performing arts centre in Calgary’s downtown core .

EllisDon will work closely alongside ACT’s prime design team (KPMB, Hindle Architects, Tawaw Architecture Collective and SLA) in constructing a new building on the Arts Commons campus and renovating the existing facility.

“We’re excited and humbled to be part of the Arts Commons Transformation project,” says Travis Perry, director of business development at EllisDon. “We look forward to building on the momentum of our recent theatre experience and leveraging the entire team’s expertise as we help realize the vision for the re-imagined and dramatically expanded Arts Commons. The EllisDon team is inspired by the opportunities this project presents for the arts community and for the residents of Calgary.”

The Arts Commons Transformation will be undertaken in two phases, expanding capacity in an adjoining new building and renewing the existing facility.

Currently in the concept design phase, ACT is expected to progress into more detailed schematic design this fall. CMLC will reveal the project design in early 2023 and then, following permitting and approvals, construction of the Arts Commons expansion will get underway in 2024.

“Having EllisDon join ACT as construction manager at this stage is a huge benefit to the project,” says Kate Thompson, president and CEO of CMLC. “In collaborating with the prime design team through the concept and schematic design phases, EllisDon will advise on the constructability and delivery of the project while it is being designed, streamlining the transition from design to development when the time comes to break ground.”