Part of a city-wide cost-cutting initiative, the recently completed $300 million Edmonton Tower will gradually welcome 2,200 City of Edmonton staff, a full ten percent of whom will no longer have permanent desks. Provided with a locker and a tablet in lieu of a cubicle and PC, roughly 220 employees will have access to communal standing desks and other temporary work spaces in an effort to cut down on costs and boost productivity — all of this without the benefit of free coffee, a traditional perk which will soon go the way of the dinosaur.

Edmonton Tower's street relationship, image by Forum contributor Daveography

At 27 storeys tall, the ONE Properties- and Katz Group Properties-built Edmonton Tower stands tall at the corner of 104 Avenue and 101 Street, just a couple of blocks north of Jasper Avenue at the city centre. Part of the ongoing ICE District redevelopment, the modern glass-clad tower, with its signature architectural swoop, is highly representative of the urban-centric direction that Edmonton has recently taken in an effort to stay competitive into the 21st century. In keeping with this new city-building philosophy, the Edmonton Tower will contain just 360 parking stalls for its 2,200 employees, with 150 bike lockups and the tower's close proximity to transit meant to spur alternatives to traditional automobile-based commuting — a big step in car-centric Edmonton, especially during its notoriously long, cold winters.

Edmonton Tower, in the heart of the action, image by Forum contributor DarrenK

City staff will have office space from floors two through 19, excluding the fourth floor which will be home to a private daycare, while the base of the tower along with the upper floors will be reserved for currently unnamed tenants. Likely to achieve LEED Gold certification, the modern office tower will pull city staff from several much older office towers in the core, a move that will culminate in a total net reduction of about 25% of the City's former office space requirements.

Edmonton Tower ready to accept new tenants and office workers, image by Forum contributor DarrenK

Set to open to the public in February, the Edmonton Tower will be ready to serve the daily civic needs of Edmontonians in a matter of months, and the complete relocation of city staff should be wrapped up in June. Once fully operational, the new development will be a welcome addition to the ICE District, and to downtown generally, where its modern sensibilities will be a breath of fresh air, even if they prove to be an adjustment for those accustomed to a more traditional workplace environment.

SkyriseEdmonton will be sure to return to this project as progress continues. For more information, check out the associated Database file and Forum thread, and as always, feel free to join the conversation in the comments section below.