Calgary Herald

A billion-dollar project -- consisting of two commercial towers totalling two million square feet -- is going ahead on the site of the current Penny Lane Mall, after a new development permit and demolition permit were submitted to the city on Friday. Owners of the project hope to begin demolition work, pending city approval, at the downtown site in April or May with construction to begin in December. Occupancy for the first phase of the project is slated for 2011. The east tower will be 48 storeys and the west tower 37 storeys. Both towers will also include two mechanical floors. Wade Gibbs, of Gibbs Gage Architects which designed the huge project, said the look of the towers is a "geological metaphor for the Rocky Mountains.It is important that the building reflect the unique condition that is Calgary and the influence that the Rocky Mountains has on our city," he said.