News story about possible heritage threats in city centre

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News story about possible heritage threats in city centre

Postby newsposter » Fri Oct 27, 2006 8:29 pm

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/new ... 47a8ab43d0

City strives to keep its heritage alive

Kim Guttormson
Calgary Herald

Saturday, October 21, 2006

The breakneck pace of development in the city's core is raising concerns that a headlong rush into the future will destroy a chunk of its past.

As developers move to cash in on the demand for new office and residential space, heritage buildings are often in the way, and there are few guarantees they'll be protected.

While the city works to convince owners of the value in keeping the historic space, its power lies more with the carrot than the stick.

"Heritage in Calgary is not just about Stephen Avenue," Bob van Wegen, a director with the Calgary Heritage Initiative, says. "We want to be way out in front of these things, not behind them."

According to the Calgary Heritage Initiative, as many as 12 buildings in the centre city are part of proposed developments.

Those include the Westbourne Baptist Church, where former premier William Aberhart began his radio show, which is on land needed for the Stampede expansion; the York Hotel and St. Regis, which sit on the EnCana site; the Edwardian-style Curtis Block at Macleod Trail and 12th Avenue, and the boyhood home of the man who designed the Canadian flag.

The city has the power to designate a building, which prevents it from being demolished, but under existing legislation the price of that is vague. The provincial legislation requires compensation for the loss of economic value, and municipalities are leery of finding out exactly what that means.

"It's a mysterious phrase, it hasn't really been tested," van Wegen says. "It weakens the city in negotiations."

Ald. Madeleine King, who has dealt with a number of heritage building developments in her inner-city ward, says the province should make it easier for municipalities to designate buildings.

But Scott Barrett, co-ordinator of the provincial municipal heritage partnership program, says changes to the Historic Resources Act aren't on the table.

"We encourage municipalities to find creative ways to deal with that," he said.

Darryl Cariou, Calgary's senior heritage planner, says they concentrate on working more closely with owners to try to convince them of the value of having a heritage building.

For example, the city has developed two strategies to encourage owners to apply for designation on their own. In the Beltline, restoring a heritage building leads to an increase in the amount of density a developer is allowed, while saving a historic site downtown can result in valuable parking spaces that can be transferred or sold to another project.

"Our highest priority is trying to develop more incentives to preserve buildings," Cariou said. "We're finding now developers are more interested in preserving heritage buildings if it makes economic sense to them."

Barrett says while, historically, designation has been viewed as a negative, those perceptions are changing.

Studies in B.C. and Ontario have shown property values often increase with the designation.

"We see a lot of places where heritage benefits new development and works together," Barrett says.

Cariou says the city can also lead by example.

It has purchased heritage buildings and makes their protection part of any future development deals. When EnCana bought the York and St. Regis, it was a condition they be incorporated into the new complex.

Plans released last week show the York, built in 1929 with an art deco exterior, will be the cornerstone of a seven-storey retail and cultural building. The 93-year-old St. Regis will be turned into a boutique hotel.

The city also recently purchased the St. Louis hotel in the East Village, which will eventually be sold as part of redevelopment in the area. However, the fate of the King Edward Hotel is uncertain.

King says some on council feel strongly that the 100-year-old hotel be preserved, but it is in the path of an underpass that will connect the East Village and the Stampede grounds and the design of that road could determine its fate.

Van Wegen thinks the city needs to do more.

For starters, he and Tony Smith, another heritage initiative director, would like to see changes to how demolition permits are dealt with.

Right now, any owner can apply for a permit, which are governed under the Alberta Building Code. Since every property on the city's heritage inventory is flagged, as are some potential sites that have yet to be evaluated, any related demolition application crosses Cariou's desk.

But if a building isn't already designated a heritage site, there's little the city can do beyond trying to negotiate with the owner.

"Ultimately, the city can't prevent a demolition," Cariou says. "It's very problematic. It's really a complicated issue."

British Columbia, van Wegen says, ties demolition permits to development permits, so that a building can't be torn down until a replacement is approved, which would remove some of the leverage owners have.

King said the city is becoming more successful in convincing developers to incorporate historic buildings.

The company developing the block where the President Apartments sits initially applied for a demolition permit for the 79-year-old building. But King says the developer changed his mind and will now incorporate it. "Only because of policy changes were we able to persuade him to maintain it and build around it," she said.

As well, the planning department is presently working on a heritage management strategy that will include a new assessment system.

Cariou says now a building has to score highly in three categories -- architecture, history and landmark status -- to rate on the inventory. The Calgary Heritage Authority will be testing a system where a high score in one area can qualify it. Both systems will be used simultaneously while the new standard is evaluated.

Smith says ultimately it will be Calgarians who decide how much of their history is saved.

"A lot really hinges on whether Calgarians really care about heritage," he says.

kguttormson@theherald.canwest.com

- - -
New outlook for old buildings

Link to map: http://ee.canada.com/Repository/getimag ... 070500.jpg

1. Westborne Church 13th Ave. and Olympic Way

2. Enoch Sales House 314-12th Ave. SE

3. Curtis Block 1203-1217 Macleod Trail

4 Carl Safran 930 13th Ave. SW

5. Connaught School 1121 12th Ave. SW

6. President Apartments 803 12th Ave. SW

7. Stanley House 1111 7th St. SW

8. St. Regis halfway 7th Ave. north side

9. York Hotel 7th Ave. and Centre Street (northeast corner)

10. strip along 7th Ave. between 1st Street SW and Centre Street

11. Kerby Centre and planetarium on 11th Ave. SW at 7th Ave

12. St. Louis 430 8th Ave SE

13. King Eddy 38 9th Ave SE
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