Old CBE HQ endangered? - it's brutal!

[newsposter]

Thread started October 2009. Last update August 2012
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The iconic "Family of Man" statues will stay put when the board of education moves to their new headquarters in the Beltline, but it appears that no effort will be made by the City to save the old Calgary Board of Education building, a mid-century modern building in the brutalist tradition, circa 1969. It is on the heritage inventory as a Citywide Historic Resource, but this information is not even mentioned in the City report (see below). Where is a saviour for this fascinating building? If it passes CPC, the item will probably go to Council in November.

Link to Calgary Planning Commission Report, October 1 2009, on the rezoning of this site:
http://www.calgary.ca/docgallery/BU/dba ... 9_0083.pdf

Herald Story Sept 30, 2009
http://www2.canada.com/calgaryherald/ne ... 76e9b96357

[newsposter]

It's been awhile since we updated this section. The old CBE building, good example of mid-century brutalism will soon be for sale with an uncertain future, just like the Catholic HQ across the road, which recently popped up in the news. Here is a link to more information about these buildings:

http://www.calgaryheritage.org/CHIForum/vi ... =2465#2465

A news story today that the old CBE site is one of five sites being considered for a new central library:

The old Planetarium (Science Centre) site is one of five possible locations for a new central library, but is also being touted for a civic art gallery, according to an April 13 Herald story. An art gallery seems a good fit with the existing, largely windowless brutalist building, but a library is something else. If the building is preserved - which we expect is a City priority for this landmark - the library portion would probably have to be built around it. Here's the story:

Proposed central library sites each have pros and cons
By Jason Markusoff, Calgary Herald April 13, 2011 2:03 PM
Full story:
http://www.calgaryherald.com/travel/Pro ... story.html

[newsposter]

For sale ad in the business section of the Herald, April 15 2011, page C5. Minimum bid $40 million. The CBE building is listed as one of 100 significant Alberta buildings by the Alberta Association of Architects... More information at this link: http://www.aaa.ab.ca/pages/public/csaa/csaa-60.aspx

Watch for CHI's "Brutal Bus Tour" of Calgary's mid-century brutalist landmarks coming this spring, in partnership with CAUSA, the Calgary Architecture and Urban Studies Alliance. Information will be posted when available or email info@calgaryheritage.org...

[cjane]

This is a great opportunity to present some new ideas for the building.

Here is some recent coverage on Global:



Calgary school board looking to sell old headquarters
Asking 17% more than market value
By Matt McClure, Calgary Herald April 20, 2011

Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/Calgary+sc ... z1KvhpCzbS

[newsposter]

No takers for CBE's old headquarters
$40M asking price too high: assessors

By Matte McClure, Calgary Herald May 19, 2011

Calgary's public school board is expected to ask a broker for help selling its old headquarters after a public tender yielded no bids...

Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/t ... z1Nhffqi5V

Now taking reservations for the Brutal Bus Tour, June 26...
http://www.calgaryheritage.org/CHIForum/vi ... =2565#2565

[newsposter]

This September article about the new CBE HQ had some very interesting information about the old brutalist-style HQ downtown. I've pulled out a few relevant passages.

CBE's new headquarters: Necessary modernization or a costly lesson in folly? By Matt McClure, Calgary Herald September 4, 2011

Excerpt related to the old CBE building:

...In fact, a 2006 report - prepared by the province just months before the CBE quietly inked the deal for its new building - found the existing headquarters on Macleod Trail was in sound condition and designed to last another six decades.

"The construction materials are very durable and have aged well," architect Brian Carr said in his report.

"The interior of the public spaces is dated, but well-finished and still attractive."

Carr's report estimated only $550,000 was needed to replace worn carpets, leaky windows and older electrical systems.

But an estimate prepared for the CBE in 2003 pegged the cost of renovations at $7.3 million.

Even if they were done, the report said the 1969-vintage building would still be too small to accommodate all of the board's bureaucrats.

"After 42 years, the old building had outlived its usefulness and design life," chairman Pat Cochrane said in an e-mail reply to a Herald query.

"There was an urgent need to consolidate all our administrative staff in one building that was functional and met the needs of the CBE today and in the future..."

Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/calga ... z1hPCkJX7S

Note: A letter to the editor printed a day or a few after this (sorry, I read it but have misplaced it and haven't tracked it down yet) indicated that the old CBE HQ had been built with the intention of adding 5 more floors if needed. We have heard similar about the old Catholic building across the street, which was built at the same time.

We would love to be able link to some of this original reports and information. If you can help, please post or send a note.

[newsposter]

Buyer found for school board HQ
By Matt McClure, Calgary Herald December 29, 2011

The city's public school board has a potential buyer for its former headquarters building. But a top official with the Calgary Board of Education won't reveal the identity of the purchaser or the sale price of the Macleod Trail property until the deal is finalized.

Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/Buyer ... z1iQape4hd

[Admin]

CBE sells former headquarters

The Calgary Board of Education has sold their former headquarters on MacLeod Trail S.E. for $36.5M.
Updated: Mon Jun. 25 2012 10:14:36
ctvcalgary.ca

The Calgary Board of Education has sold the former education centre to an institutional investor in Western Canada for $36.5M.

The sale of the building, located at 515 MacLeod Trail S.E., was approved as part of the development plan for the modernization and addition to the historic Dr. Carl Safran Centre and construction of the new Education Centre at 1221 8 St. S.W.

The CBE completed the move into the new centre last year.

Read more at: (link broken) http://calgary.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/ ... algaryHome

[newsposter]

These stories from late June add a bit more information to what was previously posted. CBE building purchased by the British Columbia Investment Management Corporation. http://www.bcimc.com/

CBE news release:
Calgary Board of Education sells former education centre
CALGARY—The Calgary Board of Education has sold the former education centre for $36.5 million. Read more:
http://www.cbe.ab.ca/Media/news/2011-20 ... 625-01.asp

Herald news story:
Public school board sells former headquarters for $36.5M
Richard Cuthbertson, Calgary Herald; With Files From Jason Markusoff, Calgary Herald
Published: Tuesday, June 26, 2012

The Calgary Board of Education has sold its former downtown headquarters for $36.5 million, money that will pay off debt from renovating two other buildings but won't help with the pricey rent at its new home.

The site at 515 Macleod Trail, which sold late last week, is one of the few large chunks left in downtown for redevelopment.

It comes with some nifty incentives, including city permission to build more underground parking than is typically allowed.

Last year, school board officials moved out of the concrete, Brutaliststyle headquarters and into new digs at the Education Centre, in the Beltline. The old building and property had been on the market for 18 months and sold for $7 million more than the assessed value.

School board facilities superintendent Frank Coppinger said he is pleased with the sale price, and suspects the site will eventually be redeveloped into a highrise.

"The timing was right. The commercial real estate market had improved in the last two or three years, and so we were lucky to take advantage of that," he said.

The site was bought by BCIMC, a $91-billion investment management corporation out of B.C.

BCIMC spokeswoman GwenAnn Chittenden said the company purchased the property for the long term, but it's too early to say what kind of redevelopment there might be.

The site will likely be turned into a mix of residential and commercial, with the possibility of a hotel, according to the broker that worked to secure the deal between the school board and BCIMC.

"You can't buy another full city block, certainly in downtown Calgary, given the amount of activity that's occurring in the area," said Garry Beres, a senior vice-president with CBRE.

Much of the school board's central administration is now housed in a new building, at 8th Street and 12 Avenue S.W.

The lease and operating costs for the Education Centre tower tallies $285 million over the next 20 years, a price that's been criticized as too costly.

The top two of those floors are vacant, and the CBE has not yet been able to sublease them.

"We're open to negotiation" on the rent the CBE wants to charge, Coppinger said.

The proceeds from the sale of the old headquarters won't dent what's being paid for the new tower.

But it will pay off the $20-million debt the board owes for the modernization of the former Dr. Carl Safran School, which houses trustee offices and some CBE staff, and Connaught School down the street.

The total cost for the renovations to the sandstone buildings was $49 million, partly paid for using board reserve funds.

What's left of the Macleod Trail proceeds will be poured into the facility reserves. Trustees will likely decide in the fall what to do with those funds.

The Macleod Trail site includes the park at the western edge of the property. A city bylaw prevents the space from being redeveloped and the Family of Man statue set, originally part of Britain's pavilion at Expo 67, will remain.

The protection of the park and statues was secured by the city in 2010. In return, the city will allow 100 per cent of needed parking to be built at the Macleod Trail site, double what is normally permitted.

The CBE has sought relocation of the statues to its present home. The city has so far refused, however Mayor Naheed Nenshi suggested Monday there could be room for that to change.

The mayor said this is a major site in the downtown and there will be a "big discussion about what can go there."

"It is worth noting that that particular site is one of the few remaining sites in downtown where you could build a very, very tall building without worrying about shadowing on the pathway or on the river," he said.rcuthbertson@calgaryherald.com

© Calgary Herald 2012

[greatcook]

[Chris E]

The site was purchased by:

"The site was bought by BCIMC, a $91-billion investment management corporation out of B.C. "

[fredde]

[newsposter]