Oilpatch consolidation swells empty office space in Calgary, but conversions help stabilize market

By Chris Varcoe  •  Calgary Herald

Published Jan 21, 2026

A wave of oilpatch takeovers last year reverberated through downtown Calgary’s office market, but a program to encourage the conversion of empty towers is helping to firm up conditions during a topsy-turvy time.

And it’s generating more tax revenue from those properties.

A decade ago, the value of Calgary’s downtown office market began to tumble, triggered by global oil prices tanking, layoffs and a wave of industry consolidation. Within four years, the total value of the downtown office buildings, which topped $21 billion in 2016, was cut in half. It  reduced city property taxes coming from these structures, even before the pandemic arrived.

Since 2021, the total assessed value of the office towers south of the Bow River stabilized around $8 billion to $9 billion.

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