Edmonton's Downtown Investment Plan
Turning Offices into Residences: If Calgary Can Do It, Why Can't Edmonton?
by Heather Thomson VP Strategy, Research & Engagement
Here’s the problem: too many offices, not enough homes. Here’s the solution: convert offices into homes.
It is, of course, not that simple. But neither should it be that hard. We just need to find a way to make it work. And we can. That’s what I’m here to talk about.
Edmonton, like many other urban centres in North America, is struggling to deal with a housing crisis while its downtown core is deteriorating. The problem is particularly acute in Edmonton.
Our downtown office vacancy rate is almost 25 percent, the second highest of any major city in Canada after Calgary.
And when you’re talking about empty real estate, you’re talking about forfeited income.
In 2009, Edmonton’s downtown generated 10 percent of the city’s tax revenues. It now stands at 6.4 percent.
That decline is written on the faces of too many storefronts. A downtown populated with vacant offices, empty retail spaces and blank windows is not the Edmonton any of us wants to see. We need to invest in our downtown.
This makes sense on every level from economic to public safety to civic pride. All because at its very core the impetus to convert offices to homes is good for business. Don’t take my word for it. You’ll find proponents far and wide.

“Office-to-housing conversions play a critical role in revitalizing downtown central business districts, offering a multitude of benefits that contribute to their success,” says the website for NELSON Worldwide, an architecture and interior design firm based in Minneapolis.
“These conversions lead to increased foot traffic as office buildings are transformed into housing, attracting more residents to the area. With a higher population density, downtown districts experience a surge in pedestrian activity, stimulating the local economy and creating a vibrant atmosphere.”
A vibrant business community means a dynamic, safe and prosperous downtown – and that in turn benefits not just the city but the whole Edmonton region.
We want to build an economy that is not based on coffee hour or happy hour but one based on 24 hours where people live, not just work, downtown.
To that end, I give you the newly released Downtown Investment Plan co-authored by BILD Edmonton Metro, Downtown Revitalization Coalition, Edmonton Chamber of Commerce, Edmonton Downtown Business Association, and NAIOP Edmonton.
To quote from the report: “In many ways, downtown Edmonton functions as the downtown for an entire region, acting as the central anchor for trade, education, healthcare, and culture in the North. By investing in our downtown, we are not just revitalizing a few blocks — we are enhancing the experience and access for countless people who look to Edmonton as their urban core.”
The report offers an impressive list of suggested actions that include rejuvenating downtown LRT entrances and building the 100 St Pedestrian Bridge, as well as improving downtown aesthetics like trees, benches and lighting.
But I’m focusing on the report’s recommendation that all levels of government invest a total of $100 million to support a Downtown Attainable Housing Fund.
This would provide impetus for developers to transform vacant office spaces to critically needed residential spaces. To see how this can work, we need look no further than Calgary where the city has just revived its popular office conversion program with a $52.5 million investment to transform unneeded office buildings into homes for Calgarians, post-secondary academic spaces, hotels, and “other uses that revitalize” the downtown.
“A thriving downtown means a thriving Calgary,” says the city’s website. “This will all contribute to more connected, vibrant, diverse and resilient downtown neighbourhoods.”
According to a Postmedia article, a previous iteration of Calgary’s program introduced in 2021 saw $153 million from the city leverage over $500 million from developers to start more than a dozen redevelopment projects. This time around, Calgary is using its share of money from the federal Housing Accelerator Fund to kick-start the project.
Why can’t we do something like that in Edmonton?
Yes, conversions are expensive. And not every building is a good candidate based on architectural factors like floor plates and placement of windows. But those are not reasons to overlook buildings that are good candidates. The consequence of doing nothing has its own cost.
At a City Council meeting last March, Puneeta McBryan, chief executive officer of Edmonton's Downtown Business Association, spelled that out.
"If we don’t do anything to make sure that residential development happens, we are building a donut city," said McBryan.
When it comes to breathing new life into our downtown, we are talking about feet on the ground.
At the same meeting, Kalen Anderson, director of the Urban Development Institute - Edmonton Metro, said that as our struggling downtown core pays less and less taxes, the rest of the city will have to pay more:
“This continued devaluation of our assets downtown will erode the tax revenues for the whole city and will inevitably place increased pressure on the rest of the community to recover that burden.”
“The number-one ingredient is people,” says Henry Edgar, president of the real estate development firm, Autograph, as quoted in Urban Affairs magazine last November.
“I believe that people create eyes on the street, safety in numbers. They’re the customers for struggling retail, restaurants and cafes, they create vibrancy for events and festivals. Without people, we simply cannot expect an easy road to recovery.”
If you’ll forgive me, I’d like to offer a quote from a report I co-authored while at the University of Alberta’s School of Business in 2023:
“Increasing residential capacity downtown not only helps reduce retail vacancies, but also contributes to urban revitalization. More people living downtown adds to a feeling of vibrancy where residents can live, work, and shop in the same area. It also promotes sustainable urban living by reducing commute times and encouraging the use of public transit.”
Even skeptics admit office conversions can work if governments help out.
“If we want to see more offices converted into apartments now—real apartments, not makeshift bedrooms in old conference rooms—cities will need to combine zoning changes with old-fashioned subsidy,” concludes a 2022 article in the magazine, Slate.
This is not just about re-energizing Edmonton’s core. This is about boosting the entire Edmonton region. As the Downtown Investment Plan points out, “downtown Edmonton functions as the downtown for an entire region.”
Just look at how the ICE District – paid for in part, I should point out, by the city’s community revitalization levy – has become a tourist attraction for people who don’t live anywhere near Rogers Place.
By transforming Edmonton’s vacant offices into homes, we will be solving two problems at the same time while helping the city and the region flourish well into the future.
