Calgary has $25 million sitting in a program that turns empty office towers into homes, hotels, and community spaces. The application window opened June 15. It closes July 27. If you own or develop commercial office property in Calgary's Greater Downtown, this is the most relevant deadline on your calendar right now.
The Downtown Office Conversion Program has been running since 2021, when Calgary's downtown office vacancy rate peaked at approximately 34 percent the highest of any major Canadian city. The city's response was blunt: stop waiting for office demand to recover and start converting the empty buildings into something else. Five years later, 21 projects have been approved, eight are fully complete, and nearly 800 homes and 226 hotel rooms have been added to a downtown that desperately needed both.
The 2026 round reopens the program with $25 million, updated incentive rates, and the widest list of eligible uses the program has ever offered.
What qualifies this year
Previous rounds primarily funded residential and hotel conversions. The 2026 round expands that significantly. Eligible uses now include residential housing, hotel conversions, student housing, senior housing, co-living models, life sciences facilities, educational institutions, and cultural spaces.
Student housing and senior living are new additions this year. So are life sciences, co-living, and cultural spaces. The expansion reflects a city that has learned from five years of conversions that a downtown full of residential towers is better than a downtown full of empty offices but a downtown with housing, hotels, students, seniors, labs, and cultural venues is better still.
What the program actually pays
Hotel conversions receive $75 per square foot of office space converted. That is up from $60 per square foot in previous rounds. Hotel conversion costs more per square foot than residential the plumbing, mechanical, and fit-out requirements are more complex and the previous rate was not generating enough hotel applications despite strong market demand for downtown rooms.
Residential and other eligible uses are funded through a new competitive bid process introduced this year. Rather than a fixed rate, developers submit proposals and compete for funding based on project quality and alignment with the city's downtown strategy. This gives the city flexibility to fund the best proposals across a wider range of uses and building types.
Funds are paid after construction obligations are met and in accordance with your funding agreement not upfront.
What the program has already built
Eight completed projects tell the story better than any number:
The Cornerstone building was the first finished conversion under the program now fully residential. The Canadian Centre at 833 4th Avenue SW is now a hotel. The Dominion Centre at 665 8th Street SW is now 132 homes, with 25 percent at affordable rental rates, financed in part by CMHC. Together the eight completed projects have brought nearly 800 new residents and 226 new hotel rooms into downtown Calgary and removed 2.7 million square feet of vacant office space from the market.
For every $1 the city has invested, approximately $3 in private investment has followed. Total private investment leveraged since the program launched exceeds $567 million.
The city's ten-year goal is to remove 6 million square feet of downtown office space by 2031. It is nearly halfway there.
Why downtown Calgary still needs this
Energy sector mergers pushed Calgary's downtown vacancy rate back up to 30.4 percent at the end of 2025 after it had come down meaningfully from its 34 percent peak. The conversion program is one of the few direct levers the city controls it removes supply from the market, stabilizes vacancy, and brings population and activity to streets that have been quiet since those towers emptied.
Mayor Farkas has projected the vacancy rate will dip below 29 percent as the current pipeline of approved conversions completes construction. The $25 million in this round funds the next wave.
How to apply
Applications are submitted online at calgary.ca/development/downtown-office-conversion-program. The submission must be a single comprehensive PDF document of no more than 15MB. It must include at minimum:
Primary applicant contact information from the ownership organization name, title, phone, and email. The property's municipal and legal address. Written confirmation that the property is classified as commercial office and non-residential property. A comprehensive project description.
If you have file size issues, contact the Downtown Strategy Team through the program page directly.
The city recommends connecting with the Alberta Ecotrust Foundation's Retrofit Accelerator Program before you apply. Alberta Ecotrust offers free coaching and partially funded deep retrofit studies getting that work done early can strengthen your application and identify cost savings before construction begins.
Applications close July 27, 2026. Late applications are not accepted. The city completes payment of incentive funds after construction obligations are met.
For questions about the program contact the Downtown Strategy Team at calgary.ca/development/downtown-office-conversion-program.
Sources:
City of Calgary newsroom, Calgary's downtown office conversion program reopens to new opportunities, June 15, 2026 (newsroom.calgary.ca)
City of Calgary, Downtown Office Conversion Program application page (calgary.ca/development/downtown-office-conversion-program)
CBRE Limited, Calgary Downtown Office Market Q4 2025 (cbre.ca)
Avison Young, Calgary Office Market Report Q1 2026 (avisonyoung.ca)
