josh white
July 13th, 2005, 07:10 PM
New tower could be tallest
Gina Teel and David Parker
Calgary Herald; with a file from CanWest News Service
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
EnCana Corp. is poised to develop a two-million-square-foot office tower complex in the heart of downtown Calgary that could be Western Canada's tallest.
The development -- which industry insiders estimate at $540 million including land -- will house EnCana's 3,200 Calgary employees and contractors as well as retail shops upon its tentative completion in 2009, said company spokesman Alan Boras.
"Essentially, we're looking to purchase a piece of property in downtown Calgary to develop an EnCana office complex to house its Calgary employees, which are now housed within five buildings," he said.
EnCana, the biggest producer of natural gas in North America, is the third-largest company in Canada with a market capitalization of $46.5-billion.
Boras said the company intends to plan and design the complex to fit the needs of its work and employees, and that the project will be similar in size to Bankers Hall.
Boras declined to provide further details, but speculation in the commercial real estate industry expects the project to feature two towers, one of which will be more than 60 storeys high.
If so, the EnCana complex would be the tallest tower in Western Canada -- a title currently held by the 52-storey Petro Canada Centre.
Boras wouldn't confirm any details, saying it's still undetermined what the final form of the complex will be.
He also wouldn't confirm the site, saying Encana is working on a number of potential property locations but had yet to make a final arrangement.
Mike Gigliuk, director of research for Alberta at CB Richard Ellis, said it's no surprise that a company of EnCana's size is choosing to build its own office space in Calgary.
"Right now, Calgary has the lowest downtown vacancy rates in North America, if not the world," he said.
The 10-year historical average is approximately 500,000 square feet per year.
Mark St. Pierre, senior vice- president of Barclay Street Real Estate Ltd. said once Encana's complex is built, it will free up about one million square feet of office space downtown.
"That alone would increase vacancy in downtown Calgary by three per cent, all things being equal," said St. Pierre.
Currently, Calgary's vacancy rate for downtown office space is 5.6 per cent.
While tongues are wagging over the sheer size of the project, Boras said the primary motive is to achieve operational efficiencies and cost savings by building one office complex to house EnCana's Calgary staff.
"This is simply continuation of the evolution, growth and success that EnCana and its two predecessor companies have achieved over more than three decades of operations," Boras said.
EnCana was formed in 2002 in a $28-billion merger of PanCanadian EnergyCorp. and Alberta Energy Corp.
gteel@theherald.canwest.com
EnCana's Proposed Office Tower
EnCana Corp. is proposing a two-million-square-foot office tower complex in the heart of downtown Calgary to house the company's 3,200 city employees and contractors. Insiders estimate that the development, including land, will cost $540 million.
First Canadian Place
Toronto
72 floors
298 metres
EnCana tower
Calgary
(proposed)
About 60 floors
Petro Canada Centre
Calgary
52 floors
214.9 metres
Shell Centre
Calgary
33 floors
140 metres
Telus Tower
Calgary
30 floors
111.6 metres
Gina Teel and David Parker
Calgary Herald; with a file from CanWest News Service
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
EnCana Corp. is poised to develop a two-million-square-foot office tower complex in the heart of downtown Calgary that could be Western Canada's tallest.
The development -- which industry insiders estimate at $540 million including land -- will house EnCana's 3,200 Calgary employees and contractors as well as retail shops upon its tentative completion in 2009, said company spokesman Alan Boras.
"Essentially, we're looking to purchase a piece of property in downtown Calgary to develop an EnCana office complex to house its Calgary employees, which are now housed within five buildings," he said.
EnCana, the biggest producer of natural gas in North America, is the third-largest company in Canada with a market capitalization of $46.5-billion.
Boras said the company intends to plan and design the complex to fit the needs of its work and employees, and that the project will be similar in size to Bankers Hall.
Boras declined to provide further details, but speculation in the commercial real estate industry expects the project to feature two towers, one of which will be more than 60 storeys high.
If so, the EnCana complex would be the tallest tower in Western Canada -- a title currently held by the 52-storey Petro Canada Centre.
Boras wouldn't confirm any details, saying it's still undetermined what the final form of the complex will be.
He also wouldn't confirm the site, saying Encana is working on a number of potential property locations but had yet to make a final arrangement.
Mike Gigliuk, director of research for Alberta at CB Richard Ellis, said it's no surprise that a company of EnCana's size is choosing to build its own office space in Calgary.
"Right now, Calgary has the lowest downtown vacancy rates in North America, if not the world," he said.
The 10-year historical average is approximately 500,000 square feet per year.
Mark St. Pierre, senior vice- president of Barclay Street Real Estate Ltd. said once Encana's complex is built, it will free up about one million square feet of office space downtown.
"That alone would increase vacancy in downtown Calgary by three per cent, all things being equal," said St. Pierre.
Currently, Calgary's vacancy rate for downtown office space is 5.6 per cent.
While tongues are wagging over the sheer size of the project, Boras said the primary motive is to achieve operational efficiencies and cost savings by building one office complex to house EnCana's Calgary staff.
"This is simply continuation of the evolution, growth and success that EnCana and its two predecessor companies have achieved over more than three decades of operations," Boras said.
EnCana was formed in 2002 in a $28-billion merger of PanCanadian EnergyCorp. and Alberta Energy Corp.
gteel@theherald.canwest.com
EnCana's Proposed Office Tower
EnCana Corp. is proposing a two-million-square-foot office tower complex in the heart of downtown Calgary to house the company's 3,200 city employees and contractors. Insiders estimate that the development, including land, will cost $540 million.
First Canadian Place
Toronto
72 floors
298 metres
EnCana tower
Calgary
(proposed)
About 60 floors
Petro Canada Centre
Calgary
52 floors
214.9 metres
Shell Centre
Calgary
33 floors
140 metres
Telus Tower
Calgary
30 floors
111.6 metres