An office-to-residential conversion project in downtown Calgary is now officially open.

It is the first completed office-to-residential conversion under Calgary’s Downtown Development Incentive Program. The city started the program to support downtown property owners to redevelop, or remove underused office space to create residential units, hotels, schools and performing arts centres.

These projects are aimed at bringing people to live downtown, as well as adding space to Calgary’s tight housing market.

The inaugural project, The Cornerstone, located at 5 Avenue and 9 Street SW, took less than two years to build. The work has transformed an office building to a residential and business hub.

It brings 112 two and three-bedroom apartments to the west end of downtown — of which about 70 per cent have already been leased.

“That could be over three hundred people living in this building that introduces a whole other segment to customers for city services for small businesses,” says Maxim Olshevsky, Managing Director at Peoplefirst Development.

Olshevsky has previously said the building will have suites for lower income Calgarians, with 40 per cent of the units to be 20 per cent below market rent.

The building is fully equipped with smart systems. It also has a commercial area on the second floor for more than 50 small businesses.

“This is a pet friendly building and family oriented, and it’s great to see this place coming back to life,” says Heather Weir, vice president with Astra Group.

Four more projects are underway as part of the incentive program to address the housing crisis and revitalize the city.