Major work set to ramp up in 2021 on BMO Centre expansion, new arena and Stampede LRT station revamp
'We see a busy, busy construction season ahead,' says head of CMLC
There will be a noticeable increase in construction activity in east Victoria Park in Calgary this year as major work gets underway on the $500-million expansion of the BMO Centre, a new $550-million downtown arena and a revamped Stampede CTrain station.
In its 2021 outlook released Thursday, the city-owned Calgary Municipal Land Corporation, which is in charge of overseeing the projects, said its vision for the culture and entertainment district will advance this year.
"These vital projects and the many others CMLC will be undertaking this year are just what the city needs. People will always need places to live and work, and our whole city will benefit from the new infrastructure and development we'll be helping to make happen in 2021," said CMLC president and CEO Kate Thompson.
"We see a busy, busy construction season ahead."
Demolition of the Stampede Corral is underway and once the site is cleared by spring, work will begin on the BMO Centre project, which will double its current rentable space to nearly one million square feet of total floor space — making it the second-largest facility of its kind in the country.
The design of the new arena, which will replace the Saddledome, is expected to be unveiled this spring and construction is slated to begin in August. Both new facilities are pegged for completion in 2024.
Work is also set to ramp up on the replacement of the Stampede/Victoria Park CTrain station, which will be designed to allow traffic and pedestrians to cross the LRT tracks into Stampede Park from 17th Avenue.
The new station is slated to open in 2023.
The three projects are expected to create roughly 1,100 full-time construction jobs, said CMLC vice president of communications and marketing, Claire LePan.
On another major project in the city's core, CMLC announced Thursday that a New York firm, Fisher Dachs Associates, has been hired to do the planning and design work on the proposed expansion of Arts Commons.
Full funding for the project — which will see a major expansion and renovation of the 1980s downtown arts facility — has not yet been secured.
With files from Scott Dippel