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CALGARY, ALTA. – The City of Calgary is pausing acceptance of new applications to the Downtown Calgary Development Incentive Program for office-to-residential, hotel, school and performing arts centre conversions.

Existing applications to the program approved and under review exceed current available funding, a city release said.

“We plan on using this time to better align the program with the city’s commitment to accelerate the development of more student, market and non-market housing, while also encouraging further private investment in Calgary’s downtown. We have 17 projects in the program pipeline and are pursuing additional funding to support many more strong projects in the near future,” said City of Calgary manager of investment and marketing for downtown strategy Sheryl McMullen in a statement.

To date the city has committed $153 million to the program, the release said, with 13 approved projects and four projects in the review process.

The projects, if all approved, would create 2,300 homes and remove an estimated 2.3 million square feet of downtown office space from the market.

Calgary City Council approved an original set of terms of reference which provided guidelines for the program in 2021 and updated it earlier this year.

The city will update the terms of reference to reflect the current downtown real estate market and the priorities of its housing strategy, the release said, and the updated terms of reference will include a focus on market, non-market, affordable, inclusive and student housing in Calgary’s downtown.

The program will reopen for project applications when a new terms of reference is approved and when additional funding becomes available.

The downtown post-secondary institution and demolition incentive programs will not be impacted by the pause, the release said.