About Tricor Design Group · Calgary, Alberta
This is a Calgary firm with Calgary roots, a real track record, and the kind of institutional knowledge that only comes from being here through every cycle the market has thrown at this city.
Our Story
Tricor did not start during Calgary's easy years. The firm was built during the hard ones. That history shapes how the team approaches every project today, with a direct read on what it actually takes to get drawings approved and projects built in this city.
Mike Borkristl founded Tricor in 1985, during the tail end of the National Energy Program and at a time when mortgage rates were pushing 22 percent. Most firms were pulling back. Tricor was just getting started. Calgary builders needed a reliable drafting resource during one of the toughest markets the city had seen, and that is exactly what Tricor became.
Growth through the 1990s pushed the firm into multifamily and commercial territory. The Garrison Woods redevelopment was a turning point. Tricor was involved in producing drawings for over 320 townhomes under a single master plan, each with custom interiors requiring precise coordination across a high volume of units. That kind of project builds a different level of technical discipline.
Today, Tricor is focused on Calgary inner-city infill, R-CG and H-GO redevelopment, land use redesignation, and development permit work across the city. The team brings the same practical, approval-aware approach it has refined over four decades to sites where design decisions, bylaw compliance, and City review expectations all have to align before anything gets built.
Leadership
The leaders directing Tricor projects have worked through Calgary's true site conditions, not just the clean ones. Our team's perspective is forged by actual project execution, real-world municipal approval challenges, and a deep historical understanding of how this city builds, scales, and evolves.
Founder
Mike founded Tricor Design Group in 1985, navigating the practice through every major shift the Alberta market has produced. Over four decades, he has guided Tricor from a focused custom home drafting practice into a full-services design, redevelopment, and approvals firm trusted by Calgarians.
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Director
With over 23 years of hands-on project experience, Ahmed brings a highly strategic, business-aware approach to Tricor’s design and technical execution. He specializes in mapping out drawing packages, structural planning, and approval pathways to protect a client's investment value.
inCalgary project reality
Calgary projects come with layers that are not always visible at the start. A site that looks buildable can carry setback conflicts, parking shortfalls, or land use restrictions that change the whole direction. Tricor has worked through enough of these situations to know what to look for early, and when raising the flag on time makes a real difference.
Early review of constraints, redevelopment potential, and approval risk before a project is pushed too far in the wrong direction.
Drawing packages prepared for City review, building permit coordination, and practical use on the construction side
Experience with rezoning, Calgary land use redesignation support, SDAB appeal support, and project design and approvals.
Tricor services
Most clients arrive at Tricor with a question and leave with a clearer direction. Each service is shaped around where your project actually is and what it needs to move forward.
Frequently Asked Questions
These are the questions we hear most. If yours is not here, reach out and we will give you a straight answer.
Residential, multifamily, commercial, infill, redevelopment, tenant improvement, and investment-led projects. Depending on your goals and stage, this covers early feasibility, design direction, permit-ready drawings, approval coordination, or technical support through City review.
Yes. Tricor prepares development permit drawings and related project documentation shaped around site fit, land use rules, parking, massing, context, and City review expectations.
Yes. Tricor supports R-CG infill projects and H-GO developments, working through density, site planning, bylaw compliance, and approval requirements with builders and developers across Calgary.
Yes. Tricor can support Calgary land use redesignation work by helping assess site potential, prepare design direction, and connect the project to a more realistic approval path. Learn more about rezoning applications.
Yes. Tricor works with builders, developers, property owners, investors, business owners, and homeowners. The process is adjusted to the project type, approval risk, drawing needs, and level of technical coordination required.
Contact Tricor before finalizing a concept, purchasing or repositioning a redevelopment site, preparing permit submissions, or responding to City comments. Early review can help identify constraints before they become expensive changes.
