FORT MCMURRAY | Golden Buffalo | 489FT / 149M | 37 Floors

Chadillaccc · #1 Posted **Jan 21, 2014, 7:54 PM**

Golden Buffalo - Fort McMurray - Multi-tower (tallest 150 meters [489 feet]) - Office, Medical Centre, Hotel, Retail

Quote:

Golden Buffalo proposes a multi-tower, mixed-use development consisting of a medical facility, commercial, mixed office, and hotel space in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada, adding approximately 863,000 sqft of finished floorspace.

The facility will be designed to the highest level of sustainable development, featuring pre-cast modular and net-zero construction techniques. Setting the precedent for commercial office and residential space throughout North America, the towers will feature reinforced and post-tensioned insulated concrete within a glass façade.

We will build a vital and dynamic place to work, play and live that will become an international icon for Fort McMurray and Wood Buffalo.

http://www.goldenbuffalo.ca/wp-conte...0722-11x17.pdf

Design-mind · #2 Posted **Jan 21, 2014, 8:05 PM**

Nice find Chadillaccc! This will be a real game changer for Ft. Mac! A lot taller than their tallest now.

Chadillaccc · #3 Posted **Jan 21, 2014, 8:22 PM**

Yeah, their current tallest is only 36 meters. I like that this project includes a shorter (hotel) tower though, so that it can at least try to blend into the current scale of the city. I also like how massive the main tower is, as it could create a new scale for the city.

Coldrsx · #4 Posted **Jan 21, 2014, 10:43 PM**

Very impressive.

cityguy · #5 Posted **Jan 21, 2014, 10:50 PM**

A new skyline is born

geotag277 · #6 Posted **Jan 21, 2014, 10:57 PM**

If it was 150 metres and this gets built that would seem to mean Fort McMurray would have a taller "tallest" building than Edmonton. Something seems wrong about that.

But it's great for Fort Mac. They could really use a development like this. I think it will be a great addition to the area.

Chadillaccc · #7 Posted **Jan 22, 2014, 1:12 AM**

Edmonton will be building taller than 150 meters any time now. I wouldn't worry about that. It would be the tallest building north of Edmonton on the continent though. Actually, I think it would be the tallest in the world north of the 56th Parallel.

HomeInMyShoes · #8 Posted **Jan 22, 2014, 2:51 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chadillaccc

Edmonton will be building taller than 150 meters any time now. I wouldn't worry about that. It would be the tallest building north of Edmonton on the continent though. Actually, I think it would be the tallest in the world north of the 56th Parallel.

Yekaterinburg has a 209m building under construction and a 184m building built. Its latitude is a few minutes north of Fort McMuray.

It is very cool for Canada anywhere to be building something significant that far north.

Chadillaccc · #9 Posted **Jan 22, 2014, 6:17 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by HomeInMyShoes

Yekaterinburg has a 209m building under construction and a 184m building built. Its latitude is a few minutes north of Fort McMuray.

It is very cool for Canada anywhere to be building something significant that far north.

haha dang! Totally forgot about Yekaterinburg. I only thought to check Moscow and St. Petersburgh in Russia (both below 56 latitude). Several of the Baltic and Finno-scandian states also have taller towers proposed. Nonetheless, a very cool project. I look forward to the intensification of Fort McMurray. Projections place its population at 230 000 by 2030.

Coldrsx · #10 Posted **Jan 22, 2014, 8:05 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by geotag277

If it was 150 metres and this gets built that would seem to mean Fort McMurray would have a taller "tallest" building than Edmonton. Something seems wrong about that.

But it's great for Fort Mac. They could really use a development like this. I think it will be a great addition to the area.

Until recently we had a 150m maximum height due to the municipal airport overlay... but that airport has recently closed.

isaidso · #11 Posted **Jan 23, 2014, 7:50 AM**

This looks as nice as Bay-Adelaide East Tower going up in Toronto. If this gets built it will be one of the most impressive builds this country has ever seen. 149m office tower in a city of 80,000 people?

HomeInMyShoes · #12 Posted **Jan 23, 2014, 1:54 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chadillaccc

haha dang! Totally forgot about Yekaterinburg. I only thought to check Moscow and St. Petersburgh in Russia (both below 56 latitude). Several of the Baltic and Finno-scandian states also have taller towers proposed. Nonetheless, a very cool project. I look forward to the intensification of Fort McMurray. Projections place its population at 230 000 by 2030.

Not a problem, but I didn't believe it.

Many of us in Regina would kill, and I mean literally kill for a proposal like this. Still hoping to see a 105-110m proposal some day, but I'll probably be dead before that.

middeljohn · #13 Posted **Jan 23, 2014, 5:15 PM**

It's awesome how fast they're growing and this proposal is impressive. Taller than anything in London or Hamilton. I'm a bit concerned about what will happen to Fort Mac when the tar sands become depleted. What's the estimation of how many years of oil they have? FM has the potential to become one of the largest ghost towns in the world if they don't diversify their economy.

MolsonExport · #14 Posted **Jan 23, 2014, 5:23 PM**

Game changer indeed. This would be the best thing ever to happen to downtown Fort Mac. For once, the term "world-class" is entirely appropriate.

Chadillaccc · #15 Posted **Jan 23, 2014, 7:42 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by middeljohn

It's awesome how fast they're growing and this proposal is impressive. Taller than anything in London or Hamilton. I'm a bit concerned about what will happen to Fort Mac when the tar sands become depleted. What's the estimation of how many years of oil they have? FM has the potential to become one of the largest ghost towns in the world if they don't diversify their economy.

At peak production (5 million barrels per day), I think the estimate is that the oil will last for over a century. With new technologies opening up a much larger area of the sands to be produced, oil could potentially be produced there for a thousands years. Currently recoverable oil reserves are 170 billion barrels, however, there is a total of 1.7 trillion barrels in the Athabaska deposit, with potentially up to a trillion barrels recoverable with in-situ methods. Once humanity's dependence on oil is decreased, production will certainly fall. That said, if after 40 years oil becomes replaced with a different dominant energy medium, humanity will still always need oil (textiles, lubricants, etc), so oil will likely be produced from the sands indefinitely, meaning Fort Mac may decline to a stable, rather than explosive, population, but it won't die for a very very long time.

Also, yes it will be taller than anything in London or Hamilton. Also Winnipeg, Quebec City, Phoenix, and many other cities significantly larger.

Deepstar · #16 Posted **Jan 23, 2014, 7:48 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chadillaccc

Edmonton will be building taller than 150 meters any time now. I wouldn't worry about that. It would be the tallest building north of Edmonton on the continent though. Actually, I think it would be the tallest in the world north of the 56th Parallel.

Isn't Epcor already taller than this proposal? I thought Epcor was 492'

Chadillaccc · #17 Posted **Jan 23, 2014, 8:37 PM**

Those are the poles on top of Epcor. They are 490 ft. The roof height is 140 meters, and Edmonton's tallest, Manulife, is 146 meters.

ue · #18 Posted **Jan 23, 2014, 11:00 PM**

Bold move, Fort McMurray.

Quote:

Fort McMurray would have a taller "tallest" building than Edmonton. Something seems wrong about that.

Mississauga already did that with Absolute World.

Edmonton's tallest is technically the EPCOR Tower, which is 149m with the spire, but in reality the building is more like 140m, this continuing Manulife Place's 30+ year reign as Edmonton's tallest at 147m.

But due to the lifted height limits over Downtown Edmonton, this shouldn't be the case for much longer. 102 St Centre is ready to go (just looking for a primary tenant, which a few may be interested) and would be 161m. The Arena District towers would also be above 150m, I do believe. There's also the (less likely) Edmontonian condos, which are pegged at over 200m now.

middeljohn · #19 Posted **Jan 27, 2014, 2:23 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ue

Bold move, Fort McMurray.

Mississauga already did that with Absolute World.

Edmonton's tallest is technically the EPCOR Tower, which is 149m with the spire, but in reality the building is more like 140m, this continuing Manulife Place's 30+ year reign as Edmonton's tallest at 147m.

But due to the lifted height limits over Downtown Edmonton, this shouldn't be the case for much longer. 102 St Centre is ready to go (just looking for a primary tenant, which a few may be interested) and would be 161m. The Arena District towers would also be above 150m, I do believe. There's also the (less likely) Edmontonian condos, which are pegged at over 200m now.

I'm afraid I don't understand the connection you're trying to make. Mississauga has over 700,000 people. A 150m building there doesn't seem off at all.

Dylan Leblanc · #20 Posted **Jan 27, 2014, 7:02 PM**

Where does the 149 m / 37 floor height come from? The building elevations and renderings show a 107 m / 25 floor building.