Repurposing buildings for homes is an old idea that’s new again. Temporary cottage schools were quickly built during the pre-WW1 building boom, to be converted to apartments when permanent schools could be constructed. What better use for vacant office and warehouse space than conversion to residential? A vibrant inner-city is achieved when it retains its heritage and provides diverse, compact housing for a growing population. Imagine living in a character building with exposed brick, expansive windows, high ceilings and a storied past!!

• Built at a time when other cottage schools were half the size and built of wood.
• It served as a school until 1977, was converted to offices then to condominiums in the 1980s.
• New infills in a complementary style were constructed on the adjacent grounds.

• It flourished when Calgary was the most important wholesale and distribution centre between Winnipeg and Vancouver
• The Lewis Stationery company purchased this Beltline warehouse in 1972.
• In 1995, it was converted to the Lewis Lofts at 240 - 11 Avenue SW

• Purveyors of the world’s finest goods, this store had a tea room with a live orchestra
• Now the old store is the Manhattan Lofts at 1117 - 1 Street SW

• Built by the Calgary Brewery, workers socialized there with those from the CPR shops
• It became Calgary's first veterans' hospital in WW1, then a hostel and rooming house, known as Alyth Lodge
• Renovated and designated its now Victory Manor transitional housing, at 7012 Ogden Road SE

• Built in 1910, it's the last original home on 26th Ave near the Mission bridge
• George Macdonald Lang was a prominent architect, responsible for many Calgary landmarks
• Overlooking the Elbow River, The Grandview Condominium (2002) towers above it to the west
• Incorporated into the grounds, the Lang House is now a common area for residents