Element Calgary Downtown opened in June 2025 as the first hotel completed under Calgary's office-to-hotel incentive program, converting the vacant 1982 Canadian Centre tower into 226 all-suite rooms with a rooftop bar over the Bow River.
833 4th Avenue SW, on the southeast corner at 8th Street SW in Calgary's Downtown West: a short walk from the Bow River pathway system and about five minutes' drive from Stampede Park and the Scotiabank Saddledome.
The concept
The first hotel completed under Calgary's Downtown Development Incentive Program, which grants $75 per square foot toward converting vacant office space into other uses. Developer PBA Group, with Concord Hospitality, turned the 12-storey Canadian Centre (a 1982 office tower more than 90% vacant, and previously home to Mount Royal College) into 226 all-suite rooms rather than demolishing it, diverting an estimated 570,000 kg of waste from landfill. It is Calgary's first office-to-hotel conversion, and PBA Group's second hospitality project downtown after The Dorian, Autograph Collection.
Dining & wellness
Bow & Bend, a 150-seat rooftop bar and restaurant on the 12th floor with indoor and outdoor patio seating overlooking the Bow River, plus a private dining room. Wander Coffee & Cocktails, a ground-floor café open to guests and the public, and a gym with cardio equipment and weights. Suites include full kitchens, and the hotel runs a bike-to-borrow program and filtered water stations on each floor.
