A local building is getting a facelift to better befit its name.
In the coming weeks, the Professional Building, located at 7 St. Anne St., is expected to come under renovations to modernize its look and attract new tenants.
In February, the building was bought by a group led by Calgary-based Torode Realty Advisors. Company president John Torode said the group is looking to start renovations on the property in the coming weeks.
"We want to try and update the building as much as we can. We will clean up the exterior, redo the parking lot, do some exterior work and just make it a little more up-to-date," he said.
The Professional Building is located west of St. Albert Trail and is home to The Cajun House restaurant, Investors Group and several professional and medical offices.
Torode said the renovations will include upgrades to the landscaping, parking lot, bathrooms and new signage. That way the building will also fit in with the new downtown area redevelopment plan, he said.
While the company is looking to fill up vacancies in the building, he does not expect anyone to move out. Some of the tenants are looking to expand but there are still 7,000 square feet of unoccupied space that he'd like to see filled.
The total square footage of the building is 45,000.
"One of the things we are looking at is maybe running a little business centre in there where people can rent single offices," he said. "We've seen that as a successful thing in Calgary."
Other developments in area
Torode Realty Advisors is a commercial and residential developer that recently started focusing on building several modern apartment and condominium units. It also constructed the popular Hotel Arts in Calgary. To date the company has syndicated more than $600 million worth of commercial real estate to private investors.
Torode said he had looked at a number of potential investments in the Edmonton region and decided to pick the St. Albert project because it presented an opportunity for upgrades and to raise its occupancy rates.
He added that he is interested in other developments in St. Albert and the region but would not share any more information about future plans at this time.
"We looked at a couple other things," he said. "We'd like to do more."
