CIBC's iconic Jasper Avenue building listed for sale

The storied CIBC central branch building at 10102 Jasper Avenue, built in 1929, has been listed for sale this week after the bank and its other tenants vacated earlier this year.

CIBC operated out of the main floor of the five-storey stone and brick structure for nearly a century, leasing additional space to separate businesses. The bank's central branch relocated in January to a new full-service banking centre in the Ice District, which CIBC described as a "state-of-the-art" facility designed to enhance client experience.

The building still retains its prominent main banking hall on the first floor, additional floors of office space, a partially developed basement, and access to the downtown pedway system. Though not formally heritage-designated, the building is listed on the city's inventory of historic resources.

Colliers' Mark Basi, senior associate in investment sales, called it "a generational asset." He said the main floor is unlike anything else in the city and hopes the next owner will "treat it like a generational asset" and carry it for another 100 years.

Kyle Schole, a heritage enthusiast and former vice chair of the Edmonton Historical Board, said while the building lacks legal protection without formal heritage designation, the sale presents an opportunity for someone to adapt the space "into something really special." He noted that similar heritage spaces like the Garneau Theatre and Strathcona Public Building thrive when "animated" and given meaning. "We need more of them, not fewer," he said.

CIBC joins other financial institutions — National Bank, ATB, TD Bank, and Servus Credit Union — that have recently relocated to the Ice District and surrounding downtown area.