Downtown Post--Secondary Incentive Program

Downtown Post-Secondary Institution Incentive Program

Overview

The Downtown Post-Secondary Institution Incentive Program (PSI Program) is part of the Downtown Calgary Development Incentive Program.

It offers financial incentives to Calgary’s post-secondary institutions to establish or increase their presence downtown. The downtown incentive program aims to:

  • Reduce vacant and underutilized office space through adaptive reuse. 
  • Increase economic activity. 
  • Expand the presence of post-secondary institutions in the Greater Downtown Plan Area.
  • Support a vibrant and safe downtown community that benefits all Calgarians.

The program brings The City and eligible publicly funded post-secondary institutions together. This partnership demonstrates a shared commitment to creating a thriving and resilient downtown. Increasing the presence of post-secondary institutions downtown provides several benefits:

  • It offers work-integrated learning and networking opportunities for students. 
  • It encourages the development of housing for students. 
  • It makes use of existing transit networks. 
  • It helps improve safety. 
  • It activates local public spaces and street-level retail.

This program is currently fully subscribed and not accepting applications at this time. However, The City is committed to increasing the presence of post-secondary institutions downtown and will continue working to support further development.

 

University of Calgary

The City of Calgary is proud to partner with the University of Calgary to transform over nine floors of vacant office space at 801 7 Avenue S.W. into a new, expanded campus for the School of Architecture, Planning, and Landscape (SAPL) and its innovative City Building Design Lab.

This project will use over 180,000 square feet of empty office space and bring over 1,200 students to the community. It's next to the 8 Street S.W. CTrain station, Century Gardens Park, and housing. This is one of several City of Calgary projects improving the west end of downtown. Other projects include upgrades to 8 Street S.W. and 8 Avenue S.W., and four office-to-home conversions within two blocks.

  • In the news

    University of Calgary and City of Calgary creating space for office-to-post-secondary conversion for downtown campus expansion.

Terms of reference

In July 2024, the Council approved an updated Terms of Reference for this program. This update is meant to improve collaboration between post-secondary institutions and The City. Please read the updated Terms of Reference for detailed information about the program.

Still have questions?

Submit an inquiry to the program team at downtownstrategy@calgary.ca. 

This information has no legal status and cannot be used as an official interpretation of the various bylaws, codes and regulations currently in effect. The City of Calgary accepts no responsibility to persons relying solely on this information. Web pages are updated periodically. ​

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