Development in the East Village is underway and on Wednesday officials announced that they have selected three Calgary businesses to be tenants in the historic Simmons Building.
The Calgary Municipal Land Corporation (CMLC) has been creating a retail strategy for the East Village that includes more than 400,000 sq. ft. of retail space.
“CMLC is thrilled to announce two major milestones in our efforts to bring exactly the right retail amenities into the East Village mix. In April, RioCan, Canada’s largest Real Estate Investment Trust concluded a transaction on a parcel of land in East Village referred to as the Gateway Block, for a major urban retail centre. And now in July, after soliciting expressions of interest, conducting interviews with dozens of would-be tenants and stewarding lease negotiations, CMLC has selected a trio of tenants to activate East Village’s most prized historical landmark, the Simmons Building,” said CMLC President & CEO Michael Brown.
The three tenants are Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters, Sidewalk Citizen Bakery and the chefs who created CHARCUT Roast House, Connie DeSousa and John Jackson.
The three were selected from over 40 contenders and were all founded in Calgary.
The Simmons Building was originally known as the Simmons Factory Warehouse and was built in 1912.
Tenants for the Gateway Block have not yet been announced and lease negotiations with prospective retailers are ongoing.
The Simmons Building is expected to open for business in the spring of 2015.
