5th and Third will bring fresh mix of retailers to East Village

The construction machinery sprawled across a whole city block in Calgary's East Village tells a retail success story.

The 5th and Third development (named for its location at Fifth Avenue and Third Street S.E.) is being constructed and leased by RioCan. The project is two-thirds of the way towards completion and on schedule to open in 2020, says Terri Andrianopoulos, RioCan's national vice-president of marketing and communications.

The two-storey, 147,000-square-foot retail development will form the base of the structure. Built out of concrete, it will be topped by the two residential towers of Arris by Bosa Developments. The mixed-use project will form the tallest structure in the community, with towers of 42 storeys and 25 storeys. Underneath it all is a large, four-level, underground parking garage.

"We know the community is enthusiastically awaiting the arrival of the new retailers and we are pleased to be part of this exciting development." - Terri Andrianopoulos, RioCan

RioCan, one of Canada's largest real estate investment trusts, has already signed leases with high-profile tenants, including Loblaws City Market (82,000 square feet in size and the first grocery store in East Village in decades), Shoppers Drug Mart, Winners, TD Bank and Scotiabank. All are expected to be operational in 2020.

"We know the community is enthusiastically awaiting the arrival of the new retailers and we are pleased to be part of this exciting development," said Andrianopoulos.

Bosa Development's 500-unit residential component of the project (estimated to add about 600,000 square feet of condo living) is currently in presales. The name Arris is an architectural term meaning a sharp edge formed by the meeting of two surfaces – the building's exterior, designed by renowned Iranian-Canadian architect Hossein Amanat, will feature large overlapping sheets of glass. Residents of the two towers will have unobstructed city and river views.

Andrianopoulos says the three-acre East Village site upon which 5th and Third sits is a compelling fit for retail tenants, as the surrounding neighbourhood continues to transform into a true urban village.

She says the existing, and rapidly expanding, residential portion of the community is currently underserviced from a retail perspective.

The project site is also in a premier transit-oriented location, with access to both the CTrain and bus service. It sits minutes from the downtown core and is surrounded by some of Calgary's most attractive cultural offerings, including the new, $245-million Central Library and Studio Bell, the 160,000-square-foot home of the National Music Centre, which opened in 2016.