A RealNet Canada Inc. report says Calgary's 2012 commercial market saw an 80 per cent increase in investment compared to 2011.

Throughout 2012, the city saw 445 transactions over $1 million for a total of $4.84 billion.

Backed by continued expansion in the energy sector and lack of available space, rents in Calgary's downtown office market saw a massive surge in 2012.

According to commercial real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield's Office Space Across the World 2013 report, rents in the city's central core rose by nearly a third last year, and trailed only Bogata, Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo for rental growth in the Americas.

The City is drawing up urban design guidelines for large commercial sites, guidelines that could change the face of big box shopping in Calgary.

According to the City, the guidelines would provide consistent guidance to developers and City staff to help ensure large commercial sites create a pleasant public realm, allow for safe pedestrian and cycling movement, reduce the need for car travel within the site, are environmentally sustainable and can be adapted for other uses.

Growth is the key word in a report outlining Calgary's office, industrial, commercial and multi-residential sectors from one of Canada's leading fully integrated real estate organizations.

In Morguard's 2013 Canadian Economic Outlook and Market Fundamentals Research Report, Calgary was singled out as one of the best markets in the country, with the organization predicting even more expansion in the coming year.