Your application should be prepared as a single, comprehensive PDF document (maximum file size 15MB). If you are experiencing issues with file size limits, please contact the Downtown Strategy Team.

It must include, at minimum, the following information:

• Primary applicant contact information (name, title, phone and email). The Primary contact is to be from the ownership organization.
• The project’s municipal and legal address(es)
• Written confirmation that the property is classified as commercial office and “non-residential” for assessment and tax purposes. Please see The City of Calgary Assessment Search
• Written confirmation of ownership of the property, or the following: 1. demonstration of a path to ownership and 2. a letter from the current owner authorizing the application and attesting to the proposed sale.
• The certificate of title (current within the last 30 days), a copy of all registration/encumbrance documents on title and other legally binding items relating to the property.
• A current corporate search (within the last 30 days) for the Ownership on title. If Ownership on title is an affiliate of the applicant, please also provide a corporate search on the applicant. The Ultimate Beneficial Owner(s) are to be disclosed and any Bare Trustees (if applicable). 
• Information about current tenants, their operations, and total leased areas, including expiry dates, unit numbers, areas, and termination clauses of leases and plans for tenant relocation. Please indicate any tenants who will remain in the building during construction.
• A comprehensive project description, including the following:
  • Approximate square footage of office space proposed for conversion
  • Proposed eligible use(s)
  • Anticipated number of dwelling units, unit mix and affordability (market vs. non-market), where applicable
  • Demonstration of how the use(s) will be accommodated within the building, including preliminary architectural drawings, renderings and standard floorplan layouts. For residential uses, location of windows should be indicated.
  • Additional project details where applicable, including information about the ground floor and Plus 15 level, residential amenity, climate mitigation, exterior renovations and any changes to the site plan and/or public realm
  • Any relevant technical, structural or environmental site information, issues or concerns.
  • Any other project information that may be relevant for evaluation (see the following section: application evaluation criteria and scoring)
• A high-level breakdown of project timelines, including a construction schedule
• A comprehensive description of the project team, organizational structure and experience, including the following:
  • Information about the team’s proven development experience, including the ownership/management group, architect, development manager and general contractor, as well as a future property manager, if applicable.
  • Prior relevant sample projects, specifically conversion projects or projects of a similar scope and scale
• A completed consent for due diligence form
  • PDF: Consent For Due Diligence
  • Word: Consent For Due Diligence
• A financing plan and related timelines for fulfilment of the financing plan demonstrating the financial capacity of the applicant owner to undertake the proposed project.

Financing plan

The Financing Plan is to include the following information:

• The comprehensive project budget (include breakout of costs such as professional fees, permits, finance fees, land holding costs, construction etc.)
• Delineated planned source(s) of financing and status of financing approval;
• If externally financing provide respective timing of provision of financing commitment letter (include anticipated dates and project stage); and provision of the Documentation required with the application as described below.

Documentation required with the application:

If project is internally financed:

• Provision of the most recent audited financial statements of the applicant (and of its affiliates if the applicant is an ownership/management group). If audited financial statements are not available at this stage, provide unaudited statements prepared by a Chartered Professional Accountant and identify why there are no audited statements.
• If the ownership of the land/project is under an affiliate name, provide an ownership tree delineating the affiliate company’s relationship with the financial statements provided. This is required to ensure access to funds for the project.

If project is externally financed:

• Provision of a financing commitment letter if available at this stage.
  • If a financing commitment letter is not available at this stage, documentation will at a minimum consist of the provision of a comfort letter from the applicant’s lender providing support for the applicant’s application to the Program for the proposed project is required.
  • If a project is anticipated to be externally financed by Canada Mortgage Housing Corporation (CMHC) through the Apartment Construction Loan Program please provide evidence that such application has been submitted to CMHC and has received Conditional Approval in the form of a letter from CMHC and application fees have been paid. Please provide all documentation evidencing such. 
  • If a project has obtained CMHC’s Mortgage Loan Insurance, a provision of the Certificate of Insurance from CMHC is to be provided.
• Provision of evidence of anticipated equity required for financing. Please note, if capital will need to be raised, this must be indicated including timing required and sources. Crowdfunding is not acceptable. 
  • Crowdfunding means a form of fundraising or financing obtained through an open call to a diverse audience of potential investors for capital (via website or any other platform), in return for each investor obtaining a revenue sharing, interest-producing, reward-based, equity or investment claim or interest in any of the Applicant, Project, Land and/or Building, as applicable.

Please note that while it is understood not all externally financed projects will have a commitment letter at this juncture, a commitment letter will be required to be provided at funding agreement stage before the funding agreement is signed.

If a combination of internal and external financing is proposed, provide applicable support for both per the above.

More information on application submission requirements is available in the Terms of Reference, Section 5. If you have questions in the preparation of your application, reach out to the Downtown Strategy team at downtownstrategy@calgary.ca.

Applications to the program were accepted from September 19 to October 31, 2024. Applicants were sent confirmation of receipt by the Downtown Strategy team within 1 business day. Consult the program Terms of Reference and information on this website for general information about the program. 

The Downtown Strategy team will first complete a ‘pass/fail’ Preliminary Review, which ensures the application is complete and meets eligibility requirements as further described in the Terms of Reference. 

You will be notified of the result of the Preliminary Review. The Preliminary Review will take approximately 6-8 weeks. 

If your application passes Preliminary Review, the Downtown Strategy team will then complete a Comprehensive Review, which will be scored based on the merits of the application in the categories of: Project Team and Relevant Experience; Capacity and Team; Project Maturity – Readiness to Proceed; and Project Elements.

Note: additional guidance on this process is provided below in the ‘application evaluation criteria and scoring’ section and  the Terms of Reference. You will be notified at the completion of the Comprehensive review. 

The Downtown Strategy team will recommend your application for either approval or refusal to the Incentives Approval Committee/Council (as applicable based on the amount of funding).

You will be notified once the application decision has been made. The projected timeframe for receiving a decision by the Incentives Approval Committee is Q1 2025. The timeline for decisions made by Council is dependent on the Council calendar.

If your application is approved to receive funding, you will begin the process of negotiating a funding agreement with the Downtown Strategy team. This will involve confirming project details, timelines, milestones and other information. 

The Downtown Strategy team will remain in contact with you and assist in navigating the process of applying for and obtaining the required development and/or building permits. During the construction process, you will provide regular reporting updates to the Downtown Strategy team on the progress of the project. 

The City will complete the payment of incentive funds once your construction obligations have been met, and in accordance with your funding agreement.

Your application will receive an aggregate score out of 100 points, and the highest-ranked applications will move forward to receive a recommendation for approval. If the application does not achieve the minimum score in any of the categories below, it will not receive a recommendation for approval, regardless of the aggregate score or score in other categories.

Review of Project Team and Relevant Experience: 40 points (minimum score 20 points)

Applicants to provide a fulsome description of the project team and organizational structure, including:

• A description of the applicant’s or ownership/management group’s proven development experience, which includes both internal and external resources, including the architect, development manager, and the general contractor required to complete the project, including descriptions of the related experience of each. Details on any planned future property management for the project should be included if known and applicable.
• An organizational chart that visually conveys the applicant’s or ownership/management group’s internal structure by detailing roles, responsibilities, and relationships between individuals within the entity, or relationships between the ownership/management group (if applicable) including an overall corporate organizational chart that illustrates all affiliated corporations of the owner.
• Previous relevant projects of similar scope and scale undertaken by the applicant owner or ownership/management group. Sample projects should include information on (i) the similarities between the sample project and the proposed conversion project; (ii) strategies implemented to develop and manage the overall schedule of the project; and (iii) strategies for effectively managing schedule, quality management, and coordination with regulatory bodies. Relevant sample projects will be evaluated in overall scoring based on their quality and relevance to the proposed project.

Project Maturity and Readiness to Proceed: 30 points (minimum score 15 points)

Applicants to provide the following information to the degree possible at this stage:

• High-level breakdown of estimated project costs (note that it is expected that further refinement and provision of updated costing will be provided throughout the project. Further note that final project costing should align with building permit submission information, where applicable);
• High-level project timeline, including the following milestones:
  • timing of vacancy status (where applicable);
  • expected timing of development permit and/or building permit submission;
  • planned construction schedule (including proposed start of construction and construction completion); and
  • anticipated occupancy.

• Information regarding known site constraints, which may include environmental concerns, Plus 15, and/or utility servicing plans or challenges*;
• Information regarding the ability to accommodate current building codes and regulations and any known variances required*; and
• Any additional relevant supporting information, as applicable.

*Items to be further reviewed and confirmed through The City’s Pre-Application Assessment process.

• Applicants will be scored on their ability to demonstrate a solid understanding of the proposed project and any development challenges arising from the site or building and the ability to address such challenges and deliver the project within accelerated timelines.
• Projects that demonstrate an ability to proceed and be completed quickly will score higher. For example: building tenancy, the ability to obtain timely financing, technical details around building code compliance, the availability of contractors and timelines for ‘shovels in the ground’, etc.
• Where there are circumstances that could potentially delay or complicate a project – such as acquisition timing, legal requirements of existing development agreements, required utility/servicing upgrades, or potential building code deficiencies/variances – provide evidence of your experience in dealing with these issues and explain how they can be addressed efficiently.

Project Elements: 30 points (minimum score 15 points)

Applicants will be required to demonstrate how the proposed project addresses the elements below:

1. The ability to manage any technical, legislative and/or contractual development requirements that may impact the ability for projects to proceed, as identified through the Pre-Application Assessment.
2. Inclusion of active uses at grade and Plus 15 levels. Where applicable, preference will be given to applications that maintain existing active uses at grade (ie. commercial/retail space), but consideration will be given to other proposed uses as appropriate.
3. Demonstration of appropriate access to natural light. Applications proposing Residential use must provide for appropriate access to natural light in all dwelling units. Preference will be given to proposals that limit the number of bedrooms without exterior windows. Further preference will be given to applications that include operable windows.
4. Inclusion of amenity. For Residential use proposals, a standard provision of 5m2 per dwelling unit is encouraged. Applications containing small or micro units (less than 350 sqft) should provide increased and/or enhanced amenity. Quantity of amenity proposed may be balanced with quality and useability of spaces.
5. Applications are encouraged to to provide for secured bike parking stalls. Where proposals indicate a large deficiency in vehicle parking, increased bike stalls should be considered.
6. Applications are encouraged to consider façade and public realm improvements, particularly at street level. Visually indicating the change to residential or other use though the redesign of façades is encouraged.
7. Where an application’s subject building is listed on The City’s Inventory of Historic Resources, preference will be given to proposals willing to obtain legal heritage designation.

Your participation in the Pre-Application Assessment process (as indicated in the Terms of Reference, Section 6.2) is a required part of the Comprehensive Review, and is an early-stage opportunity to identify any circumstances that could impact the ability for the project to proceed efficiently.

We understand that, given the constraints of converting an existing building, the degree to which the seven project elements (as indicated in the Terms of Reference, Section 6.2.3) might be effectively included in your application may vary. With this in mind, address each item as effectively as possible while still making sure the application represents an achievable development proposal.

Note that if your application is approved, the subsequent funding agreement will be based on the project as represented in the application and will need to remain consistent with what was originally proposed.

If you have questions about general application scoring, the criteria being evaluated, and questions about the application process, you can reach out to the Downtown Strategy Team before applying.

An Applicant may submit an application requesting less than the $75 psf for office to residential conversion if desired.  The Preliminary Review includes the Financing Plan and Financial Capacity which is pass/fail, therefore scoring is not a consideration and a request for less funds is not viewed as more, or less, favourable in the evaluation process.  

The possibility for future application windows for the Program will be dependent on availability of funding. There is no specific additional funding at this time beyond what has been communicated publicly. 

The new ‘Co-living’ category is for single-room occupancy where a landlord offers longer lease terms (one year) – this may fall under the multi-residential/dwelling unit use in the Land Use Bylaw, or potentially Assisted Living. Both Hotel and Co-living are eligible under the new Terms of Reference at the same rate. 

The applicant has to be an owner of the building or in the process of obtaining ownership as per Article 5, section 3 of the Terms of Reference. If, at the time of application, the applicant is not the owner, we would accept documentation that demonstrates a “path to ownership” as stated in Article 5, section 3, such as letters from the current property owner that a purchase/sale agreement is pending, or a purchase sale agreement has been entered into, but has not closed yet.

As per the Terms of Reference, we encourage applicants to provide as much information as possible at the time of application, including any known structural concerns or relevant technical information; this may include a code analysis and/or code variance requirements, if available. But a code analysis/variance information is not explicitly required as part of the submission requirements, so omission of this will not result in an incomplete application. Further review of these elements may take place during the Comprehensive Review stage of the application, during the ‘Pre-Application Assessment’ process, as well as subsequent stages of the development and permitting process, as this information becomes known.

If you were to submit an application for conversion of specific floors of an office building, while other floors remain office use (ie, a partial conversion), this would not disqualify those remaining office floors from being eligible as part of a future conversion application – assuming they are still classified as office and meet the applicability requirements of the Terms of Reference. That being said, the possibility for future application windows for the Program will be dependent on availability of funding, and there is no specific additional funding at this time beyond what has been communicated publicly.

Your application's location inside/outside the downtown core 'Priority Area' will not affect the score you receive as part of the Comprehensive review related to project/team experience, readiness to proceed and project elements. Rather, the Program's prioritization of applications in the downtown core means that applications in this area which meet eligibility requirements and achieve all minimum scoring requirements will be approved before projects outside of the priority area will be considered. The number of projects approved and their location inside or outside of the downtown core is dependent on the number and location of applications received during the application window. 

Yes, student housing applications can be supported through the Program. Depending on the specific layout and style of accommodation being proposed, applications will fall under the ‘Multi-Residential Development / Dwelling units’ or ‘Co-living’ category as per the Terms of Reference, section 3.2.

As per Section 5 of the TOR, we encourage applicants to include all relevant information in their submission, which could include climate mitigation measures, Built Green, or other environmental considerations, but as per Section 6.2.3, these elements are not directly related to a scoring category as part of the comprehensive review.

Information about what the City of Calgary considers Affordable Housing can be found on the City website. This is different than below-market housing requirements which might be relevant in other contexts (ex. CHMC financing). As per the Program Terms of Reference, we ask that a description of the unit mix and affordability (market vs. non-market) is included in your application to ensure we have a comprehensive understanding of the project, but provisioning of affordable/below-market housing is not a requirement of the Program and is not considered as part of the Comprehensive Review evaluation criteria and scoring.

We expect to complete approvals by the end of Q1 2025 and will notify applicants at that time. The exact timing of announcing the successful projects publicly is dependent on coordination between the City and the applicants, so it is not yet determined.