‘It’s going to change the skyline forever,’ officials unveil Edmonton’s next tallest skyscraper

Stantec released an image showing what the front entrance of the new downtown tower could look like. Courtesy: Stantec.

In the next few years, the skyline of Edmonton’s downtown will look very different – as plans were unveiled Tuesday for a new tower in the new arena district.

The new Stantec Tower is a joint venture between the Katz Group and WAM Development Group, it’s slated to rise 62 storeys out of the Edmonton Arena District at the corner of 102 Street and 103 Avenue.

Construction on the 224 metre (746 feet) high tower is expected to begin in the coming months.

“The building is going to be an absolutely exceptional piece of architecture, and an extraordinary addition to Edmonton’s skyline,” Oilers owner Daryl Katz said in a press conference Tuesday. “I have every confidence it will also be the cornerstone of Stantec’s continued success.

“I know it will drive Edmonton, and Edmonton’s arena district forward in ways that will benefit Edmontonians for generations to come.”

It’s a skyscraper Mayor Don Iveson is looking forward to seeing reach completion.

“This is wonderful news for our city, this is going to be a signature building, it’s going to add an awful lot of activity on the street, it’s going to change the skyline forever,” Iveson said.

In comparison, the Stantec Tower will dwarf the city’s highest skyscraper, the EPCOR Tower –at 28 storeys, and 150 metres (490 feet) in height, and 36 storey Manulife Tower, standing at 147 metres (480.2 feet).

The new development will also be more than double the height of the tallest condominium building in Edmonton, the Pearl – which stands at 121 metres (397 feet), with 36 floors.

Officials said the 26 storeys of office space will be topped with 33 residential floors.

“Just to give perspective, our lowest floor of residential starts where the Pearl ends,” WAM Development Group President and CEO Darren Durstling said.

Stantec is slated to make about 450,000 square feet of the building its headquarters, the building will feature a total of 600,000 square feet of office space – all 1700 staff located in offices spread throughout the city’s downtown will be consolidated into the office space, Stantec said. The company has signed a 15 year lease.

In all, the LEED Gold design will be topped off with a little extra sparkle.

“There will be a spine, taking that light to the top of the building and what you see at the top and crown will be lit, and basically that will be a beacon of what’s going on in the City of Edmonton,” Stantec CEO Bob Gomes said.

While construction is to begin in the fall of 2014, it’s expected to be completed in 2018.

With files from Laura Tupper and Nicole Weisberg