As most people are aware, our city’s population is experiencing increases daily which requires residential growth in order to accommodate the influx of new people flowing into Calgary. A city full of entrepreneurs and new businesses as well as oil and gas, Calgary has also become world renowned for several tourist attractions including the Calgary Stampede and Exhibition and the Spruce Meadows Equestrian Centre. Additionally, our city has become popular for our parks, proximity to various ski resorts and other recreational venues. It’s not difficult to come to the conclusion that whether it’s for new businesses, new residents or visitors to our city; additional development is needed. One such company has decided that Calgary is the perfect location to embark upon a new kind of development; one that will address all of these areas of growth.

Le Groupe Germain, a family-owned enterprise from Quebec City, has chosen downtown Calgary as the site of their first Western Canada development. Our Sister-City since 1956, Quebec City is also made up of dynamic people and a diverse cultural that mirrors our own and helps maintain this connection we have with our friends to the East. With three boutique hotels in Montreal, and two in Toronto (Le Germain Maple Leaf scheduled for completion in 2009), Le Groupe Germain has embarked upon a distinctly new project with Le Germain Calgary. Not only is the concept of the project completely new for the company and for our city, but so too will be the structure itself. Le Groupe Germain, in partnership with Grenville Properties Ltd., will invest $110 million to build this unique 20-storey development that will be comprised of a 150-room boutique hotel and an 8,346 square-foot office tower bridged from above by 42 luxury condominium units with a breezeway between the hotel and office portions of the structure.

Christiane Germain, Co-President of Le Groupe Germain, says that when the company chose to expand into Western Canada, they chose Calgary in part because it was such a welcoming city with friendly people. She says that another thing that Calgary has in common with the company’s ideals is its dedication to preserving the environment. “We believe strongly in the environment,” says Germain. “The ‘green roof’ concept of the buildings is one of my favorite features.”

Beginning at the top of the hotel and office towers and continued on the upper levels of the condominiums, the garden roof and terraces will offer a landscaped grass area; a relaxing place to enjoy the sun and fresh air, that will also incorporate rainwater recovery for watering the greenery. The nice thing about this ‘green roof’ is that people in all three components of the building will have access to a roof-top garden area. In keeping with the environmentally friendly theme, Le Germain Calgary will also incorporate various energy-saving features as well as geothermal heating and cooling and other impressive recovery systems designed to maximize efficiency throughout the structure.

Viateur Michaud, LeMay Michaud Architecture and Design, says that maintaining environmentally friendly strictures wasn’t the only challenge in designing Le Germain Calgary. He says that one of the biggest challenges was combining the three components without building a big tower that would cast shadows on Stephen Avenue Mall. As the project is designed now, the office tower, hotel and condominiums are linked in a unique way and include some truly phenomenal features. “My belief is that designs should stand the test of time,” says Michaud. Well it’s obvious that Le Germain Calgary is destined to do just that. To find out more about this award winning company or their commitment to investing in $500,000 to acquire Canadian art for the project you can visit their website at http://www.hotelboutique.com . Due to start construction this March, Le Germain Calgary is definitely a project worth watching for.