Calgary's heritage buildings at risk of 'demolition by neglect'
City forging strategy to repair sites
By Richard Cuthbertson, Calgary HeraldDecember 8, 2010 6:36
Built in 1888 by a French-Canadian doctor who settled in Calgary, it has survived more than a century and should be a sterling reminder of this city's early history.
Today, after narrowly avoiding demolition several years ago, Rouleau House sits abandoned on a plot of land just south of the Beltline. On the outside, it is boarded up, and inside is no better: according to a recent assessment, the interior is damaged beyond repair.
Rouleau House may be a more extreme example, but it is not the only historic structure in Calgary with problems.
A new report has found most city-owned heritage buildings are only in fair or poor condition, with a handful in critical shape. Just four of 21 recently assessed properties rank as good or excellent in some categories.
Not only that, but the city report notes the integrity and longevity of these buildings are at increased risk because Calgary does not have a management plan, capital budget or life-cycle funding program to care for them.
"The concerns are obvious," Scott Jolliffe, chairman of the Calgary Heritage Authority, said in an interview Tuesday. "These assets deserve to outlive us, and in order to do that, they need appropriate maintenance.
"We're thinking that a lot of these buildings now are in deferred maintenance condition. It's just time to start catching up on that."
Funding options include selling some of the assets with strict conditions, lease arrangements that involve upgrade and maintenance requirements, establishing reserve funds and finding grants from other levels of government and philanthropists.
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