Latest news with #EauClairePlaza
Calgary Herald
04-07-2025
- Business
- Calgary Herald
White: Eau Claire back in the game with athletic club
Many Calgarians, back in early 2021, were sad to hear the downtown's Eau Claire YMCA was closing after 33 years. I am happy to report the site will reopen in early July as the Eau Claire Athletic Club. The mega makeover retains the pool, gym, running track and two squash courts, but also includes designated spaces for several golf simulators, separate Pilates, yoga, spin and dance studios and a state-of-the art weight room. There is even a Nordic spa. There are also office spaces for private healthcare service providers to rent. Article content And yes, it is family friendly! Kids will love the pool, gym, programs for all ages and they even have their own virtual games room. There will also be daily childminding services. Article content Article content The interior décor is elegant with its four-storey tall water feature in the middle of the central staircase as the highlight. On the main floor is a members and guests-only restaurant, bar and lounge, as well as a small public café accessible from the new Eau Claire Plaza. The pool is spectacular with its huge window onto Eau Claire Plaza. Article content Toggle full screen modePrevious Gallery Image Next Gallery ImageToggle gallery captions Article content Article content In its heyday, the late 1990s, the Y had 10,500 members. But over the years that number dwindled to 1,300 while the cost of operating the building increased dramatically, as did the cost for repairs and upgrades to a 30-plus-year-old building. It became too much for the YMCA to manage. Article content Some city council members thought the City of Calgary should buy the building and convert it into a public recreation centre, but a motion by Coun. Jeromy Farkas to do so was defeated. I expect administration told them it was not cost effective to upgrade and operate the building as a public recreation centre based on the revenue that would be generated by the fees the city could charge. Article content Article content The building was put up for sale and Telsec bought in late in 2021. They explored various options — from converting it into a hotel to tearing it down and building a residential tower. But in the end, they decided to refurbish it and create a luxury private recreation centre. Article content Kudos to Telsec for retaining the building — as its human scale and timeless brick façade will create a people-friendly edge to the new Eau Claire Plaza. I was invited by Kris Van Grieken, president of Telsec, to tour the old Y building when they were contemplating what to do with it and again for a preview tour. I am amazed at how they have kept the building's bones the same, while transforming it into an upscale 21st century athletic club. It is an impressive and expensive makeover. Article content Who is Telsec? Article content Telsec, originally established in 1976 by Dick Van Grieken, remains a family-owned, Calgary-based business. It initially focused on providing small office spaces with administrative support, effectively acting as a precursor to modern co-working spaces with their 'fully equipped offices for less than the cost of a secretary' tagline.
CBC
02-07-2025
- Business
- CBC
Eau Claire Plaza billed as 'postcard location in downtown Calgary' ahead of reopening
Underground fog emitters and an urban beach are among the newest additions to the redesigned Eau Claire Plaza. The downtown Calgary space will reopen to the public on Canada Day, with an official opening celebration scheduled for July 2 from noon to 2 p.m. The Eau Claire Plaza aims to be "that iconic postcard location in downtown Calgary," said city project manager Dennis Hoffart, during a sneak peek of the redesigned space. "It connects the urban fabric of downtown to the natural environment of the Bow River, and we see that collision of urban and nature throughout the space," he said. It's a new design aiming to incorporate as many elements of the old plaza as possible, including keeping the iconic Olympic Arch and creating furniture using trees cut down during development of the new space. The plaza's wading pool has been "reimagined" as a fog-emitting water feature, Hoffart said, calling it "a more modern interpretation of water play." He said replacing the wading pool with fog emitters uses less water and comes with reduced maintenance and operation costs. Also new is an urban beach with umbrellas and lounge chairs atop sand, which along with the water feature is designed to further connect the plaza to the Bow River with an urban-natural aesthetic. The historic Eau Claire and Bow River Lumber Co. building has undergone restoration and is now back in the plaza after being relocated in 2021 to make way for construction. A playground structure will be completed later this summer to replace the old one. With the plaza meant to welcome locals and visitors year-round, accessibility was a driving factor behind the redesigned layout. "We wanted to keep the area as flat as we possibly could to encourage accessibility and access in all directions, but we also wanted to create a sense of grandeur and a sense of awe," said Hoffart. Plaza ready to welcome events The redesigned Eau Claire Plaza is poised to be a significant event venue, with Mexifest and the Fiestaval Latin Festival among the prominent events set to be held at the plaza this July. Mexifest, a Mexican cultural celebration, runs from July 4 to 6 at the redesigned space. Mexifest organizer Christian Greiffenstein is looking forward to returning to Eau Claire Plaza, where the event was first hosted in 2018. "We're going to be able to accommodate maybe twice as much people as we had before, so we're happy about that," he said, adding that the redesigned plaza offers more flexibility for event organizers. The plaza renovation, which cost $47 million according to Hoffart, is part of the city's Eau Claire area improvement project, which has included redesigning Jaipur Bridge in 2022 and completing the Eau Claire Promenade and Downtown Flood Barrier in 2023.
Calgary Herald
02-07-2025
- Business
- Calgary Herald
Graphic of the Week: Eau Claire Plaza opens
Article content With the area surrounding the former Eau Claire Market being in a recent state of disarray and construction, many Calgarians were happy to hear that a refreshed Eau Claire Plaza opened this week. Discussions are still underway regarding development on the actual land that housed the market, but we now know what the adjacent plaza is going to look like. Graphic artist Darren Francey takes a look at the plaza in our new weekly feature Graphic of the Week. Watch for a new graphic next Tuesday. Article content Article content
Calgary Herald
30-06-2025
- General
- Calgary Herald
New Eau Claire Plaza to hold grand opening Wednesday
The revamped Eau Claire Plaza is set to open Wednesday, just in time for Calgarians to enjoy the warmer summer weather in the new space. Article content The plaza connects downtown skyscrapers to the Bow River with a large, open event space, green areas, a water feature and a sandy beach area. Article content 'Eau Claire Plaza is designed to be that iconic postcard location in downtown Calgary,' said Dennis Hoffart, public realm lead for the city's infrastructure services. Article content Article content 'Come down here on your lunch hour, read a book, have a stroll along the river, come here for a large cultural festival or event,' he said. 'It's intended for all of Calgary, and for all the visitors to Calgary — today, every day, every season.' Article content The space also pays homage to the area's sawmill history with the old Eau Claire and Bow River Lumber Company building, which is currently vacant, and timber design features throughout the area. Article content Article content The project also preserved other elements of the original Eau Claire Plaza, including the Olympic arch that was built when Calgary hosted the 1988 Winter Olympics. The beach area also features logs salvaged from trees in the area, and many of the original pavers were saved for use in other projects. Article content Article content In addition to the nods to the area's history and the flow from urban to nature, the design of the space was also centred around accessibility. Article content Article content 'Every piece has been looked at from an accessibility perspective,' said Bryce Miranda, a landscape architect and partner at architecture firm Dialog. Article content 'You can imagine, a site this big, with all of the grading that we had to work with and all of the stormwater management challenges it has — it was difficult to get it to that point where everything was accessible,' he said. 'But I think we were successful.' Article content 'There's nothing better, as a landscape architect, to come out and see different types of people, different types of uses happening within the space,' Miranda said.
Global News
30-06-2025
- Business
- Global News
Calgary's Reimagined Eau Claire Plaza set to open
The newly redesigned Eau Claire Plaza is set to open to the public in Calgary on Canada Day, one day ahead of an official community celebration planned for July 2. 'The Eau Claire Plaza is designed to be that iconic, postcard location in downtown Calgary,' said Dennis Hoffart, the public realm lead for infrastructure services with the City of Calgary. 'It connects the urban fabric of downtown to the natural environment of the Bow River.' Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "It connects the urban fabric of downtown to the natural environment of the Bow River." The plaza will be a year-round community space for social and cultural events made up of six distinct areas, connecting the Eau Claire Promenade and Prince's Island. The hope is that it will be used as an everyday space for Calgarians to enjoy, while providing a gathering space for the Eau Claire and Chinatown communities. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'At the forefront of all the design discussion was people first, and really providing a space for people,' Hoffart said. 'It is intended to be an everyday space. Story continues below advertisement 'Come down here on your lunch hour, read a book, have a stroll along the river.' Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Come down here on your lunch hour, read a book, have a stroll along the river." The redesign is part of the Eau Claire refresh to allow for more flexible use of the area, while upgrading the Jaipur Bridge and improving flood protection in the area. While the upgrades bring a more modern feel to the area, elements from the original plaza have been repurposed in the new design. 'The biggest and most obvious is the relocated and restored Bow River Lumber Company building,' Hoffart said. 'We'll be looking for a tenant later this summer to activate that space. 'We also have elements like the Olympic Arch. … It's been relocated to the north end of Market Street and creates a grand sense of entry.' With the majority of the plaza opening on Tuesday, work continues on the Play Plaza, which is expected to be ready by the end of July. Story continues below advertisement
