Katz-backed downtown tower wins Edmonton competition

The Katz Group came out the winner Thursday when the City of Edmonton announced it will consolidate two-thirds of its 3,000 workers into a downtown office tower to be build next to the new arena.

The 27-floorbuilding,scheduled to be completed late summer 2016, will be built on the old Staples site at101st Streetand 104th Avenue.

I think it's going to be an exciting addition to the skyline of our city, you know anytime there's cause for the construction of a new building that's generally good news in Edmonton, said Mayor Don Iveson.

The Katz Group is part of theEADFirst Street Building Corporationwhich won the contract over 13 other bidders.

The bids were looked at by independent advisersto ensure the competition was fair, said Mayor DonIveson.

The city signed a 20-year lease with EAD for 350,000 square feet of space.

The tower isnt the only new project. The group also committed to $500 million worth of other developments in the area.

"We're working on a hotel, residential and a large underground parkade, said Darren Durstling, partner with WAM Development Group.

The city currently leases space in five buildings and owns four others where city staff are housed.

It just so happens that [the project] actually accomplishes a bunch of goals for the city about consolidating a big part of our team 2000 people into a single building, said Iveson.

They're going to be able to work together more effectively, we're going to able to use the space more efficiently, so it's actually going to introduce significant efficiency for the city which is the main thing driving it for us."

The city has the option of naming the building.