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Published Jul 18, 2025
Yes, you read that title correctly. The Imperia Complex has been moved.
This, of course, brings up questions: Why? Where? How???
I'll be answering these questions in order, beginning with why?
Well, the owner of the Imperia Complex, Crescent Holdings, published a press release recently wherein they identified two factors affecting their decision.
First: Land Use Inefficiency
Crescent Holdings observed that the Imperia Complex was not an especially efficient use of the relatively prime land it took up; with only ~3,800sqm of the ~10,500sqm lot being actual, profit-generating space.
The current plans for the now-empty space call for a far more dense development that should make significantly better use of the space than the original three towers connected via elevated walkway.
Second: Poor Transition from Surroundings
Crescent Holdings also identified that the Imperia Complex did not fit in with its surrounding development very well. The only nearby building that was similar in height was the Lucius, and the gap between the two properties created by the lake did not integrate the two very well.
Additionally, all other directions saw the Imperia Complex directly neighboring smaller developments, Sears Lake, and Grogar National Park.
Grogar National Park in particular was problematic as the view from the main road after using the easternmost entrance was completely dominated by the backside of the hotel tower, as shown in the top image to the left.
The Complex was developed without these considerations as Grogar had yet to be established when it was planned, so Crescent Holdings reasonably believed that buildings would eventually populate the hills directly behind the hotel tower. They also had envisioned the area surrounding the complex as something of a financial center, as indicated by the bank on the first floor of the casino/hotel tower.
The only remnant of this initial concept is the AMI headquarters located between the Imperia Complex and the Lucius.
Once development in the area turned out to be less vertical than Crescent had initially envisioned, the development ended up standing out in a negative way, leading to the decision for it to be moved to a more fitting area. The details of which will be expanded upon in the next section.
Where? is an easy question to answer: Among the new highrise developments located to the east of Kidney Island.
To the left we can see the current location of the Imperia Complex highlighted in yellow on a map, with the old location highlighted in an image below it.
The current location offers a plethora of advantages over the original. Most notably, the Complex now fits into the surrounding developments. It is no longer surrounded by mostly empty land and some low-rise developments, but instead by many buildings which share its significant stature.
The difference in surroundings is best illustrated by these two perspective images. The top being of the Complex in its original location, and the bottom showing its new home.
The current location east of Kidney Island definitely suits it better. A majority of the developments going up in this area are similar in height- if not taller -than the Complex itself. It no longer stands out as much as it used to, and more seamlessly integrates into its surroundings.
But more has changed than just the location.
Now, what used to be the second-floor elevated walkway instead acts as more of a ground level plaza, only slightly elevated from the main road its entrance is situated on.
This not only creates a better experience when entering the complex from its primary entrance, it also creates a pretty nice sub-level where the ground level used to reside. I personally love the atmosphere down there.
The new complex also has a single, centralized light rail station instead of the old format of having a station in each of the condo towers.
What enables this pretty drastic change in layout is that the Complex is now located atop a small hill, meaning that there are still ground-level entrances to the sub-level on the West side of the building.
I think that Crescent Holdings used this environment to its fullest, rather than simply placing the complex atop the hill in its original format.
But one question goes unanswered: How did they move such a massive structure across the entire city??
The answer? Slowly.
You see, the entire Imperia Complex was disassembled from the top down. Then, the dismantled components were placed in an empty lot beside the current plot until the very bottom of the structure was disassembled and moved into place. Then, they simply re-constructed the building from the bottom.
I say "simply" as if it isn't a significant understatement. The entire project took a year and a half to complete, and cost Crescent Holdings a whole $31.6 MILLION.
So then we ask a slightly different question: Why move the Imperia Complex? Surely simply demolishing the building and re-developing the land would have been more financially viable, and avoided the need to purchase new land and go through the trouble and expense of moving such a large structure.
Well lucky for us, Crescent Holdings also addressed this concern in their press release. As they explain it, the Imperia Complex is a historically significant building for Courdelane. It was one of the first truly massive projects ever undertaken in the city, and the first of its absolutely massive scale. It would set the precedent for future projects like Beef Co. Center, the City Capital Complex currently under construction, and most of the developments that it now calls neighbors.
To simply demolish a building that significant would be to disrespect the impact that it had on the current identity of Courdelane.
And besides, this isn't the most ridiculous project we've seen here in Courdelane.
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