Daily Brew71-storey tower planned for Edmonton to be Western Canada’s tallest building
A new condominium tower planned for construction in downtown Edmonton would be the second-tallest building in Canada and, perhaps more notably, would topple a Calgary tower as the tallest building in Western Canada.
Dubbed the Edmontonian, the office/condo building would eclipse the city's current tallest building Epcor Tower by more than 100 metres and Calgary's Bow Tower by a mere 10 metres.
Still, that 10-metre difference is enough to give Edmonton the honour of being home to the region's tallest building, snatching some of the esteem from its inter-provincial rival.
The Edmonton Journal recently reported that the confirmed closure of Edmonton's City Centre Airport eliminated some building height restrictions and allowed for building developers to shoot for the stars.
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The honour of Western Canada's tallest building is currently held by Calgary's Bow Tower. And sure, Canada's six tallest buildings are all located in Toronto (and that doesn't count the CN Tower), but competition is intense between the Alberta cities.
"Oh yeah, we wanted to beat Calgary," Sherwood Park architect Terry Hartwig told the Journal. See, even the building's architect, knows what is at stake.
While Edmonton is Alberta's capital, it often takes a back seat to Calgary. Located 300 kilometres south of Edmonton, Calgary more populace and considered more cosmopolitan than Edmonton.
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And you just know Edmontonians are aware of this and taking note. Last month, someone edited a city sign to read "Alberta's Capital City, Suck It Calgary."
And when Edmonton elected progressive 34-year-old Don Iveson as mayor, comparisons were quickly drawn to Calgary's hyper-popular Naheed Nenshi.
But in fairness to Edmonton, the city's rebranding is well underway. It launched a "Winter City" strategy to culturally embrace the cold temperatures last year, and news of the Edmontonians could prompt more big development projects for the city's downtown.
Whatever the project does for Edmonton, it is at least stirring conversation. By Canadian standards, 71 storeys is a massive building. Enough to make people sit up and take notice.
Some of the tallest buildings in Canada:
First Canadian Place, Toronto: 298.1 metres, 72 floors
The Edmontonian, Edmonton (proposed): 278 metres, 71 floors
Trump International Hotel and Tower, Toronto: 276.9 metres, 63 floors
The Bow Tower, Calgary: 237.5 metres, 57 floors
1250 René-Lévesque, Montreal: 226.5 metres, 47 floors
Living Shangri-La, Vancouver: 200.9 metres, 59 floors
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