A historic warehouse in downtown Edmonton has been approved for redevelopment and will be turned into student housing. The Massey Ferguson building on the corner of 103 Avenue and 106 Street was built in 1947 and designated a municipal historic resource just last year, protecting it from demolition and requiring the building be maintained and kept in a fair condition by the owner. Development and architecture company Faction Inc. was hired by ESH Housing Ltd. to design and build 696 residential units on the property. Renderings of the design show the Massey Ferguson building mostly intact, with additions on top and on an adjacent lot that currently sits empty. On Faction’s website, the project is described as four, six-storey mid-rise residential buildings, organized around two private courtyards and a central pedestrian public pathway. “The proposed student housing development addresses a critical need for high-quality, off-campus accommodation while enhancing the vitality, resilience and sustainability of downtown Edmonton,” said a statement on the site. Massey Ferguson circa 1947 Built shortly after the Second World War during a period of economic growth in Edmonton, the Massey Ferguson building serves as one of the earliest exemplars of modern commercial buildings in the city. The building was designed by local architects Blakey and Blakey for the Massey Harris Company, a large agricultural equipment manufacturer, and served as a showroom. Brothers Richard Palin Blakey and William George Blakey were prominent architects in Edmonton, designing the Provincial Land Titles Building, the Central Masonic Temple and the Garneau Theatre, among other buildings. In 1953, Massey Harris merged with the Ferguson Company, becoming the Massey Harris Ferguson Company. The name was later shortened to Massey Ferguson in 1958. The one-storey addition to the building was added in 1953. The building was repurposed in 1970 as a showroom and warehouse for the Healy Ford dealership until it moved to Sherwood Park in 2011. With files from the City of Edmonton Historic Resource Management Program
