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The Warehouse District
Warehouses are representative of an architectural genre that played a major role in the development of cities across North America in the early part of the 20th century. The establishment of the Canadian Pacific Railway station in Calgary, west of the city's original town site in 1883, delineated where the city's wholesale, distribution and manufacturing center would emerge. Effectively, the city's commercial district developed in the area north of the railway tracks and south of the banks of the Bow River and the distribution corridor developed south of the tracks. In short time this area was billed as "the greatest distribution center of Western Canada" and stretched the length of the railway tracks along 10th and 11th Avenues from 6th Street East to 8th Street West. In 1903, to encourage greater industrial building, the Canadian Pacific Railway built a spur line directly behind the buildings along this strip. The spur line made it more convenient to unload freight from the rail cars and many of the remaining warehouses today still have loading docks that open up facing the railway tracks. By 1908, with Calgary's population at 25,000, 105 warehouses existed and included companies such as Pilkington Bros. Glass Company, Massey Harris and the Imperial Tobacco. Calgary served this era as a major gateway for distribution of machinery, dry goods, groceries, liquor, tobacco, clothing, furniture, saddlery and building supplies.
Over time, as methods of distribution changed, many of these warehouses disappeared. The remaining buildings are now experiencing a rebirth as the properties are highly valued as conversions to lofts, apartments and offices. In 1998, Qualico embarked on a project to revitalize this former distribution center east of Macleod Trail between 10th & 11th Avenues to Olympic Way (4th Street East) by designing an overall plan of the area that included buildings Qualico itself was purchasing and those of other owners.
The Warehouse District now offers office and retail tenants the advantages of close proximity to the Downtown Core and Stampede Park. The location is also served by exceptional accessibility and visibility and provides an eclectic mix of new and old with an emphasis on pedestrian travel. The strength of the buildings in the area provide a foundation for a vibrant and successful office/retail location, an alternative not found anywhere else in the city.
The first of the properties to undergo a transformation was the Baradoy Building, now owned and occupied by Abugov Kaspar Architects, at 422 11th Avenue SE. 1999 followed with the Louise Block located along Macleod Trail, now home to Encompass Solutions, the Lotus Grill and Fairly Vanilla Hair Salon. The crowning jewel to the Warehouse District came in 2000 with Mogens Smed of Smed International redeveloping the former Pilkington Bros. Warehouse as prestigious office space for Critical Mass. The renovation was a demonstration project to prove that old buildings can be successfully and cost-effectively renovated to accommodate high-tech industries. The 6-month project demonstrated the versatility of Smed's building materials, the expertise of the construction team and the viability of juxtaposing history with technology.
Other renovations to notable warehouse buildings in Victoria Crossing include the residential loft conversion of the Imperial Tobacco Warehouse and J. H. Ashdown Hardware Company (now known as the Lewis Lofts). Process Engineering is now the prime tenant of the Tudhope Anderson Company building . The trend continues as the Ribtor building (formerly the Massey Harris Warehouse) has undergone renovations in 2003 to the upper floors, which are now home to O'Connor Associates Environmental Inc. and the Calgary Labour Temple (Flamingo Block) has been redone by Vintage Corporation. The Brownstones Office Condos at 221 - 10 Avenue SE is a brand new structure, and Upside Engineering at 409 - 10 Avenue SE is an addition to an existing warehouse. See the develop section for details.
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REVITALIZE
