Award

M A R C H 2 0 2 5 | 65 UXBorough R EN D ER I N GS CO U RT E S Y W E S T ER N S ECU R I T I E S L I M I T ED UXBOROUGH by ROBIN BRUNET W estern Securities Limited is nothing if not tenacious. The first two buildings of a larger mixed-use development, UXBorough in Northwest Calgary, are the result of a goal to create a valuable, long-term legacy for the neighbourhood. They're also a major achievement for a developer that has owned the site since 1960 and began redevelopment plans in 2006. Mike Brescia, chief operat- ing officer and partner at Western Securities, explains the history that led to UXBorough, which currently consists of a 146,000-square-foot medical building near the Calgary Cancer Centre, and a 14-storey res- idential tower with 15,000 square feet of ground-level retail space. "In 1961 we built the Stadium Shopping Centre on the site, but over time the neighbourhood evolved into a highly institutionalized area, so in 2006 we proposed to redevelop the site with two new office build- ings – which was rejected during the land use hearing due to traffic and density concerns," Brescia says. "But in 2016 our bid to rede- velop as UXBorough was approved, and the density expanded from the 60,000-square-foot mall to, ulti- mately, 830,000 square feet for all five UXBorough buildings." Western Securities retained U.S.-based RTKL to develop the archi- tectural framework for the massive project. "With our guidance they developed each building according to its specific use – medical, resi- dential, and so forth – as well as the specific size we wanted," Brescia says. "From there, we felt it was important to retain a local architect to flesh out the aesthetics, and GGA- Architecture was the ideal choice." Jonny Hehr, partner at GGA, says, "Western Securities had a clear vision for the site, including the desire to cre- ate something other than standard office/residential buildings; they were active in all decisions and very involved in extensive community consultation." GGA and Western Securities deter- mined that simple solutions were the most effective to unify UXBorough while differentiating one building from another. "For example, to unify the development we designed each building to have a retail/commercial podium," Hehr says. "But to distin- guish one building from another, the appearance of each structure above the podium would differ using sim- ple yet effective design techniques. For example, we embraced the pure form of the medical building and used black brick as exterior cladding, with yellow frames wrapped around each punched window. If you look at the building head on you see slight yellow highlights, but as you move past the building at oblique angles from the adjacent road, the rhythm of the deep recessed yellow frames reveal their stacking effect of rich colour impact. "For the residential building, we offset its stacking elements with a sil- ver, white, and black colour palette as well as distinct banding – again, a sim- ple but striking design solution." Hehr adds that the future grocery/residen- tial building, a hotel, and a 10-storey office building will share similar colour palettes, "but we'll play with textures by expressing these colours on different exterior materials." GGA was responsible for a unique UXBorough creation: a split-form central pavilion with stadium seat- ing on one side and room for a public café and washrooms on the other. O2 Planning + Design used reclaimed material from the demolished mall in the site design, such as the large- span glulam beams from the old Safeway repurposed as site furniture. Interior designer Metafor used carefully curated materials to create a timeless and contemporary ambi- ance for each building, along with unique tenant entries, amenities, and flexible floor plates to suit the variety of tenant types. Metafor also speci- fied high quality finishes throughout UXBorough (one example being the office building lobby: it will feature sculptured stone, custom light fea- tures, and Carrara marble tile slabs). PCL Construction faced several challenges when breaking ground on the medical and residential build- ings. "Geotechnical testing revealed the worst site conditions I have ever experienced on any project," Brescia says. "The soil was glacial till and full of water, which required exten- sive rock pile consolidation. But PCL and the sub trades did an excel- lent job overcoming these obstacles and moving the project forward." Now that the medical and resi- dential portions of UXBorough are complete – and augmented with extensive underground parking – Western Securities is losing no time moving forward with the subse- quent phases. "We aim to start the next building this year with the oth- ers closely following," Brescia says. "We're extremely happy that our vision for this site is finally com- ing to pass. It's probably shaved a few years off the end of my life, but the effort was well worth it." A LOCATION Uxbridge Drive, Calgary, Alberta OWNER /DEVELOPER Western Securities Limited ARCHITECT GGA Architecture GENER AL CONTR ACTOR PCL Construction STRUCTUR AL CONSULTANT Entuitive MECHANICAL CONSULTANT Smith + Andersen Consulting Engineering ELECTRICAL CONSULTANT Designcore Engineering INTERIOR DESIGN CONSULTANT METAFOR L ANDSCAPE ARCHITECT O2 Planning + Design ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTANT WSP Canada TOTAL SIZE 830,000 square feet (all five buildings) TOTAL COST $200 million

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