The City of Calgary is continuing to pour big money into the building known as Big Blue or new city hall.
Over the past decade, the city has committed nearly $85 million into repairing and modernizing the Calgary Municipal Building.
In recent years, it seems like there’s always a project going on somewhere in the building.
Back in 2014, a city report warned that the building’s deteriorating condition was an issue and that it required investment.
Susan Specht is the manager of building infrastructure within the city’s facilities management department. She is part of the team determining what repairs are needed in the building and when that work should proceed.
She said the city does building condition assessments on all of its properties every three to five years.
Good upkeep
The goal in commissioning work is to keep buildings in fair to good condition — and that includes this key building for the city.
“It is the age of the building,” said Specht, explaining why there are so many upgrades on the list of recent repairs. The city also ensures the building remains up to current building codes and remains safe.
The repairs have run a wide range, from structural issues to modernizations and replacements of the building’s operating systems.
“When we’re updating the HVAC [heating, ventilation and air conditioning] system, we want to make sure we’re still maintaining the comfort levels that are appropriate, given the degree of changes that are happening and the different standards from industry. We’re just constantly trying to make sure that we are meeting the standards,” said Specht.
LIST OF PROJECTS:
CostProjectDates$25MBuilding steel trusses2016-23$13MFire control panel replacement2025-26$11.5MFire damper replacement2022-26$9.5MReplace roof and skylights2017-19$5.3MRoof drains/storm piping2022-27$5MCooling tower lifecycle2016, 2024-27$5MCashiers/Fair Entry renovation2024-25$3.4MExterior precast panel repairs2024$3.2MTransformer replacement2025-26$1.817MCouncil chamber renovation2024, 2025$1.2MArson restoration2022$840,000Municipal plaza lighting, fountains2023-24$84.757MTOTAL
With its triangle shape and reflective blue glass exterior, the Calgary Municipal Building opened in October 1985. Its price tag at that time was $97 million.
It’s not only where approximately 2,000 city employees work, it’s also where Calgary’s city council holds its meetings and it’s the place Calgarians go to pay a bill, apply for permits, buy a transit pass or sign up for the city’s Fair Entry program.
It’s also one of the City of Calgary’s largest buildings. It’s 14 storeys tall with 734,000 square feet of floor space.
Watching for surprises
While the city has a list of projects already completed and more to come, there is always some uncertainty with each new piece of work.
“In any building that you’re going in to renovate, once you start opening things up, you start to learn more and you need to address things as they come up as well. So it’s never simple,” said Specht.
With some projects already planned into 2026, she said the work on the Municipal Building will continue over the coming decade.
The city’s top bureaucrat, chief administrative officer David Duckworth, said the corporation maintains over $100 billion worth of public assets and is responsible for ensuring their viability for decades to come.
“The municipal building’s approaching 40 years in life. It’s a community space. It’s important that it’s inviting for the public and citizens to come to and so — like all of our other assets — it does need to be maintained.”
While some work is deemed mechanically or structurally necessary, some more cosmetic projects have also been done to spruce up the place.
A couple of years ago, carpets on the publicly accessible main floor and the third level of the building were replaced.
They were an original feature of the building when it opened in 1985.
