Ongoing economic challenges, shrinking population growth and a pandemic that won't go away add up to a downtown Calgary office market facing critical vacancy rates.

One solution is adaptive reuse: the conversion of vacant office space into residential projects. The University of Calgary's School of Public Policy recently published a research paper exploring the challenges and opportunities surrounding adaptive reuse and how it could make a major difference in the city's downtown core.

It's not a spot where you would normally expect to find a recreational space. Yet, Flyover Park, located under the overpass that links westbound Memorial Drive to 4^th Ave S.E. and the East Village, is the newest addition to Calgary's parks system.

A year-long pilot project designed to ramp up safety in the downtown core winds to a close at the end of 2020, but its effects might be long lasting.

Calgary's downtown office vacancy rate is going nowhere but up.

By the end of this year, that rate is projected to jump to 29.5 per cent, and it will climb even higher moving into 2021, says Greg Kwong, regional managing director with commercial real estate company CBRE.

With many people trading in their downtown commute for a home office due to the COVID-19 pandemic, proximity to the city centre has been less of a priority for house hunters this year.

In fact, a new emphasis on creating comfortable, productive workspaces within the home and the reduced importance of living anywhere near the office have increased buyer interest in areas just outside Calgary's city limits – where prices are lower and space is plentiful.

While the COVID-19 pandemic has many Calgary businesses seeing red, Graywood Developments is betting on black ink for its two new condo projects here in the city.

Calgary's East Village has perhaps seen more change over the last 20 years than any other community in the city. Since the idea of bringing East Village back to life resurfaced in 2005, the neighbourhood once known for its vacant lots and neglected buildings has been transformed into one of the city's more vibrant communities.

While there have been several key developments during that transformation – including the Simmons Building, RiverWalk pathway, St. Patrick's Island and a handful of condo projects that have brought residents back to the community – Calgary's Central Library stands out.

By early 2022, the first of Alpine Park's eventual 10,000 residents will be moving into a mixed-use community at the heart of a new type of Calgary suburb.

Year of Construction: 1907

Address: 803 15^th Ave S.W.

Community: Beltline

Architectural Style: Tudor Revival

As the name suggests, this historic residence holds significant heritage value thanks to its status as the home of Nellie McClung and her husband from 1923-32.

Year of Construction: 1901
Community: East Village
Architectural style: Western false front

At almost 120 years old, the Sanders Residence holds the distinction of being the longest-standing continually occupied home in the East Village. The home is an excellent example of Western false front architecture, a style that was common among commercial buildings in the Old West of the United States and Canada, but quite rare among residential buildings.