Historic Canada Permanent Building in downtown Edmonton gets modern makeover – Edmonton

The Canada Permanent Building has been a fixture of downtown Edmonton for more than 110 years, and the legacy is expected to continue after the building underwent major internal renovations.

The entire structure was taken down to the studs, said Carrie Candy, the building’s spokesperson.

The ceilings, walls, floors and electrical are all new, but with the draw of the building being its vintage charm, many unique features were kept intact, including the stairs, railing and outer façade.

The renovation cost $1.6 million, with about $110,000 coming from the city and the building owners fronting the rest.

The building has been declared an official historical site by both the province and the city. It was originally a bank for the Canada Permanent Mortgage Company, then transformed into a Japanese Village restaurant. The question now is: what will the building be home to in 2023?

“It offers that unique history to it, while still having a completely blank slate with all the modern things a business would need to operate and have success in the downtown area,” said Candy.

The building consists of three floors, each with 2,500 square feet of space and could fit anything from weddings and events to a restaurant, she said.

Alex Hryciw with the Downtown Recovery Coalition said the building’s restoration could go a long way in the overall revitalization of downtown, which has taken a major hit since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic three years ago.

“Revitalization of an old building sparks interest in a broad spectrum of demographics,” she said. “You will have people from an older age group that will want to see what the building is doing now that they might have interacted with the building when they were young and people in a younger demographic that may want to see what the offering will be.”

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Will revitalizing Edmonton’s downtown core make a difference?

City Coun. Aaron Paquette says work has been done to find different ways to use older buildings without losing their character, and he hopes the revitalization of the Canada Permanent Building will be an inspiration for other developers to restore Edmonton’s history.

“The next generation deserves to know what previous generations have actually built for us,” he said.

“Times are changing and what people want out of downtown spaces is changing.… (People) need a reason to come downtown,” he said, as the city is seeing more people work from home and businesses no longer occupying downtown real estate.

While it has yet to be determined what business will take over the Canada Permanent Building, this historic building has a place in the heart of Edmonton for years to come.

— with files from Sarah Komadina, Global News

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