Downtown Calgary Snapshot Q2 2020

Temporary outdoor patios give extra space for distancing

Patio season in Calgary is a crowded affair. While there are many established patios in Calgary, there are also many local businesses who could use a bit of extra space. In May, The City announced a temporary permission for outdoor patios on public spaces, such as sidewalks, with no fees involved. These patios are not just for restaurants, businesses are able to establish them for retail outlets and sidewalk sales. The new temporary patios have sprouted up along 17 Avenue S.W., in the Beltline.

Black Lives Matter murals to go up Downtown

On June 16, City Council agreed to contribute $120,000 from the Public Art Reserve in support of four city-wide street murals that focus on the Black Lives Matter movement and the work of Calgary’s Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour (BIPOC) artists and communities. Pink Flamingo, with the assistance of Katie Green and Suitaakii Black (PFA), Calgary Arts Development (CADA), and The Beltline Urban Mural Project (BUMP) are facilitating four Calgary murals in two phases.

Art and photograph with permission of artist Natalie Nehlawi and photographer Jennie Price.

Calgary’s new Event Centre project team revealed

Calgary Municipal Land Corporation (CMLC) announced in June the firms selected to lead the design and construction of Calgary’s new Event Centre, the centre point for the city’s Culture & Entertainment District. DIALOG, a local multi-disciplinary design firm, and HOK, a global design, architecture, engineering and planning firm will design the Event Centre. CANA Construction, a local firm, and Mortenson will lead construction. Entuitive, Thornton, ME and Designcore will handle engineering for the project.

Historic City Hall begins unwrapping

Historic City Hall has been completely under wraps since May 2017, when it was surrounded by a heavy-duty protective enclosure. Exterior work is nearing completion and the process of ‘unwrapping’ Historic City Hall is beginning. Calgarians will soon be able to view the building for the first time in three years. While Historic City Hall was undergoing heritage restoration, the wrap covered the construction crew, equipment and materials, and protected the sandstone and exposed building components from weather. It allowed us to work through every season regardless of extreme temperatures which was an important factor in meeting our project timelines. 15,142 pieces of sandstone have been restored and 2,400 new sandstone bricks were installed to the building’s original façade.

Place

20-0006260

Construction Value$29 million

Downtown & Beltline Office Sales$0

Building Permits116

Average Downtown Office Net Rental Rate$11.97/sq. ft.

Source: Statistics Canada; Corporate Economics, The City of Calgary; Civic Census, The City of Calgary

Data collection for Q2 2020 was affected by COVID-19 pandemic-related limitations. Regular data collection and presentation will resume in Q3.

Live

Data collection for Q2 2020 was affected by COVID-19 pandemic-related limitations. Regular data collection and presentation will resume in Q3.

Share & Go e-scooter parking arrives

You’re going to be seeing something new on downtown streets - e-scooter parking zones. The shared mobility pilot has reached a milestone of one million trips taken by riders using a shared electric bike or e-scooter. With more people using shared e-scooters, The City is testing ways to mitigate public safety concerns while still offering mobility options for Calgarians. Calgarians will notice Share & GO painted parking areas intended to be used as a go-to place to find an e-scooter or to end your Lime, Bird or, 2020 new entrant, Roll ride.

Calgary’s internet exchange peaks in usage

The YYCIX (internet exchange) saw a 25% increase in traffic in March and April with the peak being 50.6 Gb/second. The reasons behind the uptick in Internet usage in Calgary are not surprising – staying at home means Calgarians are giving their internet connections a workout. They’re trying to stay productive in their jobs and school work while continuing to connect with friends and family. As a result, the use of Zoom and other bandwidth-intensive video conferencing apps skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Connect

Downtown tech firm raises $73 million capital investment

Downtown Calgary-based Symend has raised a $73 million round of funding for its customer engagement platform designed to better connect with financially at-risk customers. The startup has developed an “engagement platform” designed to better engage, treat, and retain financially at-risk customers. Symend’s mission is to digitally transform the engagement experience for those consumers by using behavioural science, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. Symend is targeting a team size of 200 employees by the end of 2020. Not only is Symend delivering an innovative solution to the marketplace, but they are also actively leveraging Calgary’s rich and diverse tech talent pool.

Bow Valley College awarded $1.5 million to support reskilling and upskilling

Bow Valley College was awarded $1.52 million by the Government of Canada’s Future Skills Centre to help Canadians secure employment by demonstrating their competencies to prospective employers, by “Bridging the Gap” in skills required. This significant investment will be used to develop both scalable Artificial Intelligence (AI) assessments and a technology platform to support reskilling and upskilling. The college and its partners will each identify two in-demand jobs in the region, create scalable AI assessments, and then offer them to job seekers through a network of almost 50 community partners.

Population

1,285,711(2019 Civic Census)

Jobs

817,700(Statistics Canada average for April to June 2020)

GDP Growth

-5.7% (Spring 2020 Economic Outlook for 2020)

Calgary’s Downtown is the core of our city’s vibrancy and economic resilience

State of Calgary’s Economy

Posts across platforms 1,939#downtownyyc

Source: Social Studio

Data collection for Q2 2020 was affected by COVID-19 pandemic-related limitations. Regular data collection and presentation will resume in Q3.

Work

Office Absorption Volume

Downtown-231,624 sq.ft.

Beltline -11,405 sq.ft.

Downtown & Beltline

Office Supply49,033,324 sq.ft.

Vacancy26.9%

Source: Assessment, The City of Calgary; CBRE

Data collection for Q2 2020 was affected by COVID-19 pandemic-related limitations. Regular data collection and presentation will resume in Q3.

Downtown Calgary Snapshot: Glossary

Downtown CalgaryThe Bow and Elbow Rivers bind Calgary’s Downtown to the north and east and 17 Avenue to the south and 14 Street to the west. It includes communities such as the Downtown Commercial Core, East Village, Beltline, Downtown West End, Eau Claire and Chinatown.

State of Calgary’s EconomyPopulationActual count of the number of inhabitants in the city of Calgary as per the Civic Census.

� Reporting Period: Annually, 2019

Data Source: Civic Census, The City of Calgary

JobsEstimate of the number of employed people in the Calgary Economic Region.

� Reporting Period: Quarterly, Q2 2020 � Data Source: Statistics Canada; Corporate Economics, The City of Calgary

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) GrowthMeasure of the value of final goods and services produced by the economy within the Calgary Economic Region.

� Reporting Period: Forecast, Spring 2020 � Data Source: Spring 2020 Outlook, Corporate Economics, The City of Calgary

Place

Building PermitsNumber of building permits issued.

� Reporting Period: Quarterly, Q2 2020 � Data Source: Calgary Growth Strategies, The City of Calgary

Construction ValueValue of building construction permits that were issued.

� Reporting Period: Quarterly, Q2 2020 � Data Source: Calgary Growth Strategies, The City of Calgary

Downtown & Beltline Average Office Net Rental RatesA weighted average of head lease rates per square foot across all building classes in a given location (such as Downtown or Beltline). This rate is exclusive of building costs such as operating costs and property taxes.

� Reporting Period: Quarterly, Q2 2020 � Data Source: CBRE

Downtown & Beltline Office SalesTotal value of office sales.

� Reporting Period: Quarterly, Q2 2020 � Data Source: Assessment, The City of Calgary

Work

Office Absorption VolumeThe net change in occupied space, measured in square footage, over a specified timeframe, and takes into consideration newly constructed space. Commonly it is reported from one quarter to the next (for example, from Q4 2019 to Q2 2020).

� Reporting Period: Quarterly, Q2 2020 � Data Source: Assessment, The City of Calgary

Office SupplyTotal square footage of rental space in office properties, regardless of occupancy or vacancy.

� Reporting Period: Quarterly, Q2 2020 � Data Source: CBRE

Office VacancyPercentage of unoccupied space available to rent in office properties.

� Reporting Period: Quarterly, Q2 2020 � Data Source: CBRE

Connect

#downtownYYCNumber of reported tweets using the #downtownYYC hashtag on the platform Twitter during the reporting period.

Cities across the world are recognizing the power of social media, hashtags and placemaking. This insight helps us understand where and how Calgarians connect with their downtown. This data comes from third party software program, Social Studio, and is able to track growth over time.

� Reporting Period: Quarterly, Q2 2020 � Data Source: Social Studio

Data collection for Q2 2020 was affected by COVID-19 pandemic-related limitations. Regular data collection and presentation will resume in Q3.