Breathing new life into a Lethbridge landmark

Kendal Hachkowski, Sumus’ Managing Director, said the goal is to create a “vibrant new hub” in the downtown core. Upon completion, he said the building could have spaces for up to 25 new businesses.

“There hasn’t traditionally been an opportunity for businesses of varying sizes to purchase and own space in downtown,” Hachkowski told Lethbridge News Now.

“We’re going to bring that option to them, with 700 to 7,000 square foot options. That also allows them to become stewards of this historic piece of property in downtown Lethbridge.”

In addition to spaces for businesses, Hachkowski said they plan to set up fitness and wellness studios, rooftop patios, tenant lounges and nooks, and showers and changerooms in order to give the building a strong community feel.

The development is being referred to as “The Post”, recognizing the long-standing Canada Post office that’s been in the building for many years.

A poster for ‘The Post’ project (Photo: Lethbridge News Now)

Hachkowski said during their initial consultations, many people Sumus spoke with simply referred to the building as ‘the post office building’, making the name “The Post” a perfect fit.

He added that they’re also going to construct a street running through the building.

“Not a lot of people have been into the building except for into the [Canada Post] entries, so we’re taking the entries that a lot of people forget about on 4^th Avenue and 7^th Street and connecting them inside the building with a street, as we’re calling it,” he explained.

“It will be a corridor through the building where all of the building amenities will be cordoned off of. It also is what gives us the ability to create units as small as 700 square feet, so that street will become an integral part of building community in the building and it will function almost as though it’s the heart of the property.”

A second poster showcasing some of the details of the project (Photo: Lethbridge News Now)

And for anyone wondering, Canada Post isn’t going anywhere. They will stay on as main floor tenants of the revamped building. The famous clocktower will also go untouched during the redevelopment.

Hachkowski said the timeframe is to have the project completed in two to five years.

“Hopefully it ends up being completed sooner. We expect construction will be completed sooner but we want to make sure that the final users that become stewards of this property are the right fit and it may take longer to find those users,” he commented.

“This project is definitely a complicated one. We are dealing with three layers of government, where we’ve got municipal, provincial and federal historical protection, so the City [of Lethbridge] has definitely helped us with navigating some of those boundaries.”

The building holds a Provincial Historic Building designation.

Stairs leading up to the building’s clocktower (Photo: Lethbridge News Now)

“We’re going to take our time. It’s not something that we’re going to move hastily on, it needs to be done right. There’s only one of these buildings [and] it’s arguably the most important building in the city and we’re going to make sure that it’s done properly,” Hachkowski said.

“It is a long project but we’re not going to allow the timeline to force us to move faster than the approvals and the process and the design that we will be proud of in the future.”

Inside the first level of the tower top is a metronome (Photo: Lethbridge News Now)

Construction costs are slated to exceed $12 million. This would represent the biggest single private investment in the downtown in close to 20 years, coming just months after Six08 Health announced a large redevelopment on 5 Avenue S.

READ MORE: First TRIP funded project announced in Lethbridge

The City of Lethbridge is supporting Sumus’ work through improvements to the public space surrounding the building.

That includes the addition of a new cycling lane on 7 Street and a public art feature. Sumus and the City are also planning to establish a long-term parking agreement at the downtown Park ‘n Ride facility as well as work together to access any available development grant incentives.

Inside the second level of the tower top, with clock faces and gears (Photo: Lethbridge News Now)

Andrew Malcolm, Urban Revitalization Manager for the City, said this investment and the work by Sumus comes a critical point for the region.

“There’s no doubt that we’ve been through some challenges recently in the downtown, so to see private investments in the most iconic building in Lethbridge comes at an incredibly important time for us and the City is very excited to be supporting it,” he said.

“The building has always been the centre of Lethbridge. We’re excited that the commitment is there so that going forward, for hopefully the next 100 years, that’s the case.”

by Justin Goulet

Breathing new life into a Lethbridge landmark

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