TELUS building reaches for the Sky

$400-million, 750,000 square foot LEED Platinum project to transform Calgary's skyline with an architectural marvel, creating a dynamic community of blended urban living and working

CALGARY, July 4, 2013 /CNW/ - TELUS is reaching for the sky with a new architectural landmark in Calgary's downtown core, transforming the entire 7th Avenue block into one of the most technologically innovative and environmentally-friendly sites in North America.

"The TELUS team is tremendously proud of our longstanding history in Alberta and thrilled to announce the development of TELUS Sky, which will stand as a lasting symbol of our passionate commitment to the Calgary community, our customers, our team members and to the province of Alberta," said Darren Entwistle, TELUS President and CEO. "Our new development is a powerful contribution to Calgary's economic strength, culture and social vitality. Notably, TELUS Sky will inject millions of dollars into the community and create hundreds of local jobs while showcasing TELUS' advanced communications technologies and environmental innovation in a way never before seen in Calgary. Moreover, TELUS Sky will enrich the city's vibrant arts culture by offering inspiring public spaces that will exhibit works of art by local artists, thus creating a truly amazing destination for our team members, the community and indeed all Albertans."

TELUS Sky will be a LEED Platinum signature development for TELUS created by world-renowned architects Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) and Dialog, along with partners: developer Westbank and real estate investment trust Allied Properties. The 750,000 square foot vibrant mixed-use tower will incorporate office, retail and residential space. There will be 430,000 square feet of office space, of which 155,000 square feet will be for TELUS. The development, scheduled for completion in the fall of 2017, will provide approximately 250 jobs for Calgarians, and engage local trades and companies to complete our vision.

TELUS will be the anchor tenant of the office component of the development, which will also include 341 residential rental units, thereby creating a dynamic community with a unique blend of urban living and working. TELUS Sky will also support Calgary's burgeoning arts culture, fusing iconic architecture, technological innovation and artistic expression. TELUS Sky will feature a unique 5,500 square feet public gallery to ensure the city's commitment to the arts in downtown Calgary continues. TELUS Sky will be a destination for citizens to visit and experience local works of art that reflect the region's cultural diversity and creativity.

"We know Calgarians want their downtown core to thrive - the recent floods showed us just how much the area matters to this city," said Alberta Premier Alison Redford. "That's why I'm so pleased that TELUS is making this important investment. Today's announcement is a reminder to all Calgarians that they live in a truly world-class city that is getting better by the day."

With the addition of TELUS Sky, TELUS has become the largest current lease holder of LEED Platinum space in North America. Following the highest environmental standards, TELUS Sky will be the most significant next-generation property in Calgary's history. TELUS Sky will also feature a storm water management system to recycle rain water for washroom toilets and outdoor irrigation, reducing water use by millions of litres per year. When complete, TELUS Sky will use 35 per cent less energy than similar size developments, setting a leading example in sustainability. Plans are underway to improve upon that energy efficiency, with the goal to have the final development use 80 per cent less energy than similar developments.

"Building on the success of TELUS Garden in Vancouver, we are proud to be continuing in our commitment to sustainability with the launch of TELUS Sky," said Ian Gillespie, CEO of Westbank. "Developing a LEED Platinum building means taking a look at every aspect of design and having ownership that is committed to working harder to integrate those elements. With TELUS and Allied, we have assembled that team and we look forward to working to ensure that TELUS Sky exceeds the LEED Platinum requirements, including a whole block energy sharing centre.  Most importantly, we look forward to using every opportunity we have to create a beautiful building for Calgary."

TELUS Sky is building upon our track record of developing LEED Platinum and Gold buildings across Canada, joining:

• TELUS Garden, which is currently under construction in downtown Vancouver (LEED Platinum);
• TELUS House Toronto (LEED Gold certification in Core and Shell and LEED Platinum in Building Operations & Maintenance);
• TELUS House Ottawa (LEED Gold); and
• Place TELUS Québec in Quebec City (LEED Silver for retrofitted buildings).
  
  

TELUS is investing $700 million in new infrastructure and facilities across Alberta this year. This investment is part of a three-year, $2 billion commitment made a year ago and building upon the $26 billion TELUS has already invested in operations and technology throughout the province since 2000. TELUS is investing $125 million in new infrastructure and facilities in Calgary in 2013. By the end of this year, TELUS will have invested $745 million in new technology and infrastructure in Calgary and area since 2009. This investment announced today is consistent with TELUS' overall capital expenditure target for 2013.

This year, TELUS' infrastructure investment will advance our services for the benefit of Albertans, by connecting hundreds of new homes and businesses directly to fibre optic cable to radically increase internet speeds and capacity and power Optik TV; expanding the reach of TELUS' healthcare solutions (TELUS now provides electronic medical records to 9,000 Canadian physicians across the country, supporting more than 25 million patient interactions each year); installing dozens of new wireless sites enhancing coverage in urban areas to increase wireless data capacity, and dozens more extending coverage to rural communities and highway corridors; and further extending Optik TV service to reach nearly 90 per cent of Alberta households by the end of 2013. TELUS currently has 712,000 TV customers.

Since 2000, the TELUS family of more than 14,000 employees and retirees in Alberta alongside the company have donated more than $95 million and, more importantly, volunteered 1.4 million hours to community and charitable organizations. More than $33 million and 435,000 volunteer hours have been contributed since 2000 to charitable and community organizations in Calgary.

TELUS is also funding a series of important Alberta flood recovery projects that will make a lasting and meaningful impact to citizens hit hardest by this disaster. These projects include providing camping gear for the High River Scouts, so more than 50 youth, who lost their equipment in the flood, can attend the Canadian Scout Jamboree this year at Sylvan Lake, Alberta; ensuring the Bridgeland Crisis Nursery is able to open their doors to families requiring care of their children while coping with the aftermath of the devastating flood; and helping Inn from the Cold provide temporary housing, food and clothing for families displaced from their homes.

TELUS will provide a further $250,000 through our TELUS Calgary Community Board and TELUS Community Action Teams in Alberta for local flood recovery efforts, bringing our total contribution thus far to $2 million. Chaired by Ken King, the Board has directed more than $4.5 million dollars to almost 300 local grassroots initiatives since its inception.

About TELUS
TELUS (TSX: T, NYSE: TU) is a leading national telecommunications company in Canada, with $11 billion of annual revenue and 13.2 million customer connections, including 7.7 million wireless subscribers, 3.4 million wireline network access lines, 1.4 million Internet subscribers and 712,000 TELUS TV customers. Led since 2000 by President and CEO, Darren Entwistle, TELUS provides a wide range of communications products and services, including wireless, data, Internet protocol (IP), voice, television, entertainment and video.

In support of our philosophy to give where we live, TELUS, our team members and retirees have contributed more than $300 million to charitable and not-for-profit organizations and volunteered 4.8 million hours of service to local communities since 2000. Fourteen TELUS Community Boards lead TELUS' local philanthropic initiatives. TELUS was honoured to be named the most outstanding philanthropic corporation globally for 2010 by the Association of Fundraising Professionals, becoming the first Canadian company to receive this prestigious international recognition.

For more information about TELUS, please visit telus.com.

About Westbank
Established in 1992 and with over $5 billion of projects completed or under development, Westbank is active across Canada in a diversity of product types from luxury condominiums, rental apartment office, commercial, retail, hotel, non-market housing and industrial. Westbank's primary focus is on large mixed use projects involving highly complex entitlement processes. Westbank is best known for being the leading luxury residential developer in Canada, along with being the owner/developer of the finest hotels in Canada. Some of its best known projects include Shangri-la Vancouver, Shangri-la Toronto, Fairmont Pacific Rim and the Woodward's Redevelopment project.

About Allied
Allied Properties REIT is a leading owner, manager and developer of urban office environments that enrich experience and enhance profitability for business tenants operating in Canada's major cities. Its objectives are to provide stable and growing cash distributions to unitholders and to maximize unitholder value through effective management and accretive portfolio growth.

About Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG)
BIG is a Copenhagen and New York based group of architects, designers, builders and thinkers operating within the fields of architecture, urbanism, research and development. Internationally award-winning architect, Bjarke Ingels, is the lead designer for TELUS Sky. Ingel's energetic and leading-edge designs continue to re-invigorate city skylines around the globe, from Shanghai to New York. In 2011, the Wall Street Journal named him 'Innovator of the Year' for architecture and lauded him as one of the design world's rising stars.

About Dialog
Dialog is a fully integrated architectural, engineering, interior design, urban design and planning firm. We will be working alongside Dialog architects, Bruce Haden, Robert Jim and Doug Cinnamon who are renowned for revitalizing abandoned urban neighbourhoods and their commitment to sustainability.

Forward looking statement:
This news release contains statements about expected future events of TELUS that are forward-looking. By their nature, forward-looking statements require the Company to make assumptions and predictions and are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties. There is significant risk that the forward-looking statements will not prove to be accurate. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as a number of factors could cause actual future events to differ materially from that expressed in the forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, TELUS disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements.

SOURCE: TELUS Corporation

Chris Gerritsen
TELUS Media Relations
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