The City released an Expressionof Interest from late 2023 to early 2024 seeking an applicant that could repurpose the Historic Fire Hall 1 (HFH1) (140 6 Ave. S.E.) and North-West Travellers (NWT) (515 1 St. S.E.) in the city centre as an Arts and Culture Hub. After a thorough evaluation of the applications, and extensive discussion with the top-ranked applicant, The City of Calgary is pleased to name cSPACE Projects as the successful applicant. Our two organizations have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to explore the transformation of two historic downtown Calgary buildings into a vibrant arts and culture hub. If the project moves forward, it will breathe new life into these historic buildings. These spaces will provide dynamic areas for artists, creatives, and the community to engage with the arts, culture, and creative enterprise.

Since both buildings are protected heritage resources, any renovation for adaptive reuse needs to consider the identified documented character-defining elements and be in keeping with the “Standards and Guidelines for the Conservation of Historic Places in Canada.”

The goals for the project include:

• Support Calgary’s arts and culture community with a unique, affordable, and accessible downtown arts and culture hub.
• Improve the area’s vibrancy and connectivity through site activation.
• Build social, cultural, and economic resiliency downtown.
• Improve opportunities for local artists at all stages of their careers to have local studio/workspace and to display a variety of artworks, from temporary to permanent, reflecting a variety of mediums and a variety of art practices.
• Attract private sector investment and diversification and conserve historic Calgary landmarks.
• Align with the 2016 Council intention to repurpose the site as an ‘arts and cultural hub’. Strive for sustainability and climate risk adaptation (i.e., LEED, Passivhaus certification standards.)
• Promote social diversity and inclusivity at this important civic asset in Calgary’s downtown.

The Historic Fire Hall 1 (HFH1) and North-West Travellers Building (NWT) are City owned provincially designated heritage buildings located next to each other in a central downtown location. The decision to acquire NWT in 2016 was based upon the direction by Council for the building to fulfill a cultural space commitment previously earmarked for the South Block development of The Bow Tower. These buildings became vacant from lease termination in 2019 (HFH1) and 2020 (NWT).

Having selected cSPACE as the successful proponent from the Expressionof Interest, The City and cSPACE are working together on designs and planning for the full vision for the site.