FIVE HARVEST PLAZA
1976
RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS
1911 / 1961
Schematic rendering of the residential buildings that stood here, according to the footprints indicated on the 1911 and 1961 fire insurance maps.
Interview
WITH PETER CHU (PROPERTY MANAGER AT FIVE HARVEST PLAZA SINCE 2001)
+ How long have you been in Chinatown?
What was Chinatown like then?
I came to Calgary in 1985 as a visitor, and immigrated to Calgary in 2000. At the time in the mid-80s, there were individual houses in this area and commercial stores on this land.
+ Tell us about today’s building.
Currently, there are 2 levels of parkade, all basement level.
On the main floor are commercial units / shops.
The second floor is commercial, occupied by the Christian CCM Association.
Floors 3 – 12 are residential (there’s no 4th floor) and each floor has 10 units (five facing north and the river, 5 facing south, the city).
+ When was this building constructed?
It was built in the late 1970s. Before, it belonged to one owner (original owner unknown) that was run as a hotel in the beginning, for short-term stays.
In 1993, the developer Don Jung turned the building into condominiums and sold them to individual owners. The government had a new law in 2000 for buildings, that condos needed to have reserved funds.
+ Who are the current tenants and users of this building?
In around 2000, most folks were Chinese senior citizens. In 1997, the children had bought condos for their parents. Now, about half of the units aren’t Chinese anymore. The trend in residents has changed and continues to change. Most units are bachelor suites (studios) because it was designed as a hotel.
CURRENT DAY BUILDING PHOTOGRAPHS
Photographs taken in 2020.
