Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/255439
11th Avenue Place by Shannon Miller renderings courtesy Morguard investMents LiMited C algary's Beltline district is arguably one of the city's most attractive areas for develop- ment. It's the closest area to the south end of the downtown core, positioned on major transportation corridors, with convenient access to 17th Avenue. The Beltline is also referred to as "Biker's Paradise" with a bike score of 93 (it also scores high points for walk- ability – 90 – and access to transit – 83). As the district's first building on track to receive LEED Gold certification, 11th Avenue Place will stand as a beacon for future energy-efficient developments and a draw for prospective tenants. Attractive features of the building also include dedicated carpool stalls, electric vehicle charging stations, green roof areas on three floors and a structural design that allows for an interconnecting stair between the tenth floor and penthouse level. Situated at a prime address on the north side of 11th Avenue SW (a major east-west traffic artery), the 11-storey, multi-tenant office building has approximately half of the nearly 200,000-square-foot tower preleased to the lead tenant, Matrix Solutions. Owner/developer Morguard Investments Limited inherited the design team and general contrac- tor, which meant the budgets were already established, according to Nathan Worbets, Morguard's direc- tor of development. "The project was brought in already permitted," says Worbets. "Morguard's big win was the firm's ability to close the deal with Matrix and avoid the expiry of entitle- ments in place. We had more involve- ment moving in to the construction phase as opposed to the design process at the beginning of the project." Morguard worked closely with Pivotal Projects in the project man- agement role, and general contrac- tor Graham Construction during both the acquisition phase and later while maintaining schedules and deadlines. Pivotal's Ian Kinney had started on the project in August of 2012. "Pivotal and Morguard have collaborated before," says Kinney, "So we already had a good working relationship. And although the project was started by another devel- oper, everything fell back into place when Morguard and Matrix came in." Kinney points to Morguard's dedication in aiming for LEED Gold. "This is not a small commitment from the ownership group, or from the con- tractors and subcontractors," he notes. Although the building was originally targeting LEED Silver certification, the combined efforts of the owner, consul- tants and contractor allowed the LEED Gold pursuit to become a reality. Rick Robertson, principal with Robertson & Associates Engineering agrees: "In keeping with the owner's goal for a LEED-certified building, we needed to balance construction costs with LEED practices," says Robertson. Robertson & Associates was involved from the preplanning stage as well. "We were responsible for all electrical design issues, lighting, security, power, communications, fire alarm systems, etc., and have carried this through to the construction phase by performing inspections," says Robertson. "Sahuri + Partners Architecture Inc. was hired in 2007 by the original devel- oper of this project," says Allan Law, principal of the firm. "Their request was to have our firm finalize the approval of the Development Permit which was proving to be a challenge for them. We successfully completed this for the sub- sequent owner in 2010, prior to Mor- guard purchasing the project in 2012. "Fortunately the design team has maintained continual involvement in the project since 2008," adds Law. "I firmly believe that successful relation- ships are based on a common under- standing and approach to providing the most beneficial and reasonable solution for our clients' projects." In all large building projects there are unforeseen challenges, and the 11th Avenue Place project was no exception. Calgary has had issues with soil conditions negatively affecting construction, and the team encountered exceptionally challeng- ing subgrade conditions during the excavation stage, halting construc- tion until a solution could be found. "It was an interesting situation because the team had built other buildings in the same area, and didn't run into any soil problems," says Kinney. "Graham Construction had actually built a very similar building right across the street without any issues." The structural engineer, MMP, and the design team needed to redesign on the fly. The decision was made to move to a raft slab footing system, and rig mats were brought to the site so the team could continue building. "There were schedule delays and cost consequences as we needed to balance the delay with contingencies already in place," says Worbets. "The team reacted to the challenges quickly and with great ingenuity, which allowed construction to move forward. This kind of quick thinking helped us mitigate what could have been a giant hurdle, and move towards a positive ending to the story." With LEED Gold certification on the horizon, 11th Avenue Place will be in a unique position on the Beltline. Amenities like the three-level, 175-stall underground parking facility, high- speed elevators, bike storage, showers and changing facilities, efficient floor plates and an enhanced waste diver- sion program are a part of the Class "A" design – and are still estimated to achieve over 30 per cent energy savings compared to a conventional design. "This type of building fits with Morguard's mandate and future planning efforts, in terms of sustain- able construction and building opera- tion," says Worbets. "And the result is a LEED-Gold asset on the Beltline, which is a great addition to our portfolio." 11th Avenue Place is scheduled for completion in the fall of 2014. n Location 214 11th Avenue SW, Calgary, Alberta oWnER/DEVELoPER Morguard Investments Limited (on behalf of Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan) PRoJEct ManaGER Pivotal Projects Inc. aRcHitEct Sahuri + Partners Architecture Inc. GEnERaL contRactoR Graham Construction & Engineering Ltd. StRUctURaL conSULtant MMP Structural Engineering Ltd. MEcHanicaL conSULtant Mirkwood Engineering Inc. ELEctRicaL conSULtant Robertson & Associates Engineering Ltd. LanDScaPE conSULtant 818 Studio totaL aREa 200,000 square feet totaL conStRUction coSt $45 million february 2014 /63 11th avenue Place p62-63 11th Ave.indd 63 14-01-30 11:12 AM