[1][2] The restored building along with a Festival Market was opened to the public on the first weekend of September 1988[3] and the place came to be known as Strathcona Square.

It was designed by David Ewart, the Chief Architect of the Canadian Department of Public Works in an Edwardian Classical Free style.

Next to the grain terminal, the Old Strathcona Post Office clock tower stood as the second tallest structure on the south side of Edmonton for many years.

[11][12] The building sat empty until January 1986 when the City of Edmonton took ownership of the Old Strathcona Post Office for the sum of $1.00.

However, Terry Semeniuk opposed this plan and would only finance the project if Clarion agreed to rent out the building as a Retail Market.

Albert Hansen, President of Clarion, resolved to make the Old Strathcona Post Office the finest restoration and adaptive reuse project in Canada.

[14] Since the early 1990s the middle floor has been home to Chianti Cafe, which serves Italian food, and is part of a chain based in Calgary and established in 1984.

Tenants at opening included Eric's Framing, Silver Treasures, Bustamante's, Toys Galore, Kringles, Croissant Creations, Macdonald's Coffee, Daisy's Deli and Incredible Edibles.

Clarion shipped the clockworks to Smith of Derby in England,[18] where the clock mechanism was reconditioned and recalibrated so that it could be located on the floor of the second story of the building, enclosed in glass, thereby making the clockworks and the inside of the clock tower open to the public, and a unique tourist attraction.

As the US Federal Reserve raised interest rates from 1988 through 1990,[20] the Province of Alberta Treasury Branch pressured Clarion to sell the Old Strathcona Post Office to cover mounting losses from hotels in oil-dependent towns where Clarion owned hotel properties.

The Province of Alberta Treasury Branch has made no overtures about restoring the Hansen family property.