March 2015
| Business World
125
The Kelly Ramsey Tower in Edmonton is
a landmark development that seamlessly
blends the modern and the historical. Locat-
ed on 102nd Avenue in Edmonton, between
101st Street and 100A Street N.W., the proj-
ect spans 550,000 square feet, 25 storeys, and
is the city’s first AAA office building in more
than 20 years.
“The building was bought and developed to
be the heart of downtown,” says John Day,
whose vision sparked the project. “And that’s
what’s happening.”
John is a former real estate lawyer, and he
initially started his development career as a
sideline to his law practice. After achieving
some early success on his first few develop-
ments in Edmonton, he purchased the his-
toric Kelly-Ramsey Block in January 2010.
The year before, a fire had rendered the build-
ing unsound, causing $3.5 million in damag-
es and destroying business contained within.
The building had been occupied since the
fire. John was attracted to the site for its his-
torical value, and its location in the heart of
downtown Edmonton. He and his partners
considered many types of developments for
the site before settling on an office building.
