Ep. 9: Downtown Calgary’s 10-to-20-year problem

The Confluence

Picture Calgary’s downtown core, where tall office towers and cranes working on the next big project have long dominated the skyline. Today, the equivalent of one in four of those buildings sits completely empty. The city’s record-high downtown vacancy rate has even surpassed that of Manhattan at the height of the Great Depression. That’s a major problem for Calgary, which has historically relied on downtown for one in four jobs and 40 per cent of its non-residential tax revenue. On this episode, host Annalise Klingbeil and guest co-host Chris Varcoe, a Calgary Herald business columnist, speak to Calgary Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Adam Legge about downtown Calgary’s big problem. As always, Kerianne Sproule makes us sound great. And, your feedback, advice, ideas, shares and iTunes reviews are appreciated.