Posted Aug 12, 2014, 3:55 PM
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BANNED
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Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Lower Mount Royal, Calgary
Posts: 5,147
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Move this thing already geez:
Quote:
Calgary’s historic Enoch Sales House gets new lease on life
By Jessica Patterson
For Metro
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Jessica Patterson / For Metro The Enoch Sales House sits boarded up along Macleod Trail near downtown, however a move next door and proposed renovation could see the historic home keep its place in Calgary's history.
Boarded up and dilapidated, the Enoch Sales House looms over Macleod Trail on the way into downtown.
Many passersby would probably assume its due for the wrecking ball, but the 110-year-old home may have a new lease on life, if the current owner and the city can sort out a deal to move the structure to a nearby park.
Current owner Dan Van Leeuwen, president and chief executive of New Urban, said they’re trying to make arrangements with the city to move it onto the new park, right next door.
“We were trying to find it a new home,” he said. “We’d love to see it saved.”
Van Leeuwen said the city had made provisions for the Sales House to be on park space next door, but they haven’t been able to figure out how to facilitate a move.
“We’ve been prepared to donate the house to the city and have them move it to the park,” he said. “We’d like to see it restored and turned into some practical use.”
The Queen Anne Revival-style home was built for Calgary merchant Enoch Sales in 1904, in the stylish Victoria Park neighbourhood. Characteristics of the house include a hipped roof with a dominant front-facing gable, a slightly-projected upper storey and bay and oriel windows.
According to city records, the house also has an open staircase inside, maple balustrades, and bead-and-reel moulding across the top of the door frames.
These days, though, it’s hard to see past the boarded-up windows and shabby exterior.
The Enoch House seen in 1977 and 2014. Historic photo courtesy Glenbow Archives.
The Enoch House seen in 1977 and 2014. Historic photo courtesy Glenbow Archives.
“For the most part, it’s still fairly intact on the inside,” Van Leeuwen said.
The house has been boarded up to keep people from vandalizing and damaging it, said Leeuwen.
“It’s been a very difficult house to maintain,” he said. “People try to break into it all the time. It’s boarded up for preservation more than anything.”
Van Leeuwen said the house has been difficult to preserve, as there have been a few fires inside, and it suffered some flood damage last year.
“We managed to pump it all out, and dry out the sandstone in the basement,” he said. “We’ve managed to preserve it, but it’s a tough one.”
In 2012, the city’s parks department developed a plan for a $1.4 million park directly east of the house. It would include green space, trees and pathways, and possibly the house, itself. Development plans for the house included an adjacent patio, interpretive signs in the front and possible ice cream sales.
Construction on the park began in the summer of 2013, said project manager Michelle Reid.
“We had two plans, one moved the house onto the park, and the other did not move the house,” Reid said. “We were hoping we would be able to move the house onto the park immediately, but it doesn’t seem we’re going to be able to do that.”
Reid said the city and New Urban are in negotiations, and should they come to an agreement sooner rather than later, it’s a small landscaping job to remove grass and install the house on the park.
“The idea is that we would remove the grass and put the house there,” she said.
Reid said the new park in the Beltline community is important, as the neighbourhood doesn’t have the right ratio of park space, as compared to other communities.
“It was developed before we had minimum standards of park space,” she said.
The park is expected to be complete in the fall
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http://metronews.ca/news/calgary/112...lease-on-life/
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