Double glass towers joining city's skyline

Eau Claire is going to dramatically alter the ever-changing Calgary skyline, offering splendid retail, office and residential opportunities in the developed west-end area.
Representative and director of development Norman Starnes says he has been working on the project, owned by a Calgary-based consortium 3 Eau Claire Developments Inc., since he was able to purchase the land through Tim Sommer of Cushman & Wakefield four years ago. The prime site is on the parking lot at 6th Street and 3rd Avenue S.W. immediately across from the classy Shaw Court.
Consisting of an 11-storey podium and two glass towers rising to 850 feet , it was designed by the Calgary office of NORR architects. About 30,000 square feet of retail is available at street level – Starnes would like to see a grocery store and restaurant as tenants – and he expects the second floor to be leased to professional services firms.
Floors three through 12 are designed as 200,000 square feet for office use with a large floor plate of around 20,000 square feet. Leasing has been awarded to Trevor Skinner and Larry Delf of Cushman & Wakefield but Starnes says he will also consider making floors available for sale.
Approximately 500 condominium units in the 39 floors of the residential towers will attract young professionals and empty nesters – ideal for Snowbirds who want to “lock up and go away” for winter months.
Looking over the plans with Starnes, I noted that although there are larger units available on the higher floors, 3 Eau Claire offers no humongous penthouse suites, even though the views from up 50 storeys high are going to be magnificent. And they will be from the spectacular Garden in the Sky glass atrium that joins the towers at Level 36 and soars nine storeys high to a curved radius top. It will house a large landscaped area, sky lounge and fitness centre for residents.
Calvin Buss, who has 25 years of experience selling in the multi-family market, has been assigned the task of selling the units. A sales centre is to be built in the adjacent former Veritas building, owned by the Calgary Parking Authority, which is situated on the 5th Street side of the project.
Dozens of trees will give the towers a welcoming entrance through an outdoor plaza into the 3rd Avenue lobby area with separate elevator banks for office and residential users.
3 Eau Claire is an exciting undertaking for Starnes who, apart from a period living in Kazakhstan when he was with Hurricane Hydrocarbons, has lived in Calgary since 1999 when he was development manager for the Pauls Group in the construction of The Princeton, another exceptional Eau Claire property.
His new project is ideally located in the well-developed west end of the downtown office core, convenient to restaurants and other amenities and just steps from the Bow River pathway.