Construction has started on the first phase of Brookfield Place Calgary.

Brookfield Office Properties Inc. broke ground on the 1.4-million-square-foot east tower of the development, which is slated to be the tallest structure in western Canada.

Cenovus Energy will occupy about one million square feet of the tower. The 56-storey building is part of a development plan that includes a second office tower, a 60-foot transparent glass pavilion, underground parking, and retail, restaurants and amenities located at street level.

Brookfield announced that the pavilion space, which is adjacent to the east tower, will be called The James K. Gray Gallery, named after an influential member of Western Canada’s oil and natural gas exploration business.

Architects Fender Katsalidis Arney (FKA) and Dialog, as well as EllisDon, are working with Brookfield on the project. The building is expected to achieve LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold Standard for Core & Shell development.

The east tower is expected to be completed in the second half of 2017, with tenants starting to move in by the first quarter of 2018.