Beltline rooming house - Hamilton Terrace

Status of new or continuing risks to heritage sites

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Beltline rooming house - Hamilton Terrace

Postby newsposter » Sun Jul 30, 2006 10:02 am

Last updated July 2008. See the bottom of the thread...

Image Image

Building History (added July 2007)

The Victoria Building Survey (by the Alberta Historical Preservation and Rebuilding Society) indicates it was completed in 1910 as a rooming house. But the fire insurance maps indicate that the front portion of the building may have been built as a single-famly house by Sept. 1908, and that the rear portion of the building, the apartment section, was added sometime after October 1911, probably around 1912. The first occupant of the building was also its owner, Thomas George, a building contractor. Which suggests he built the rooming house for himself as a rental property, which may be an indicator of underlying quality. After 1928 the owners were Mr. and Mrs. Seneca E. Steele. Mr. Steele was a long-time yardman for the CPR. (A recent Herald story suggested that the rooming house once housed many CPR workers). Anyway, this needs some more research to sort out the contraditions.

The front of the building is brick but was stuccoed over sometime between 1971 and 1985. The current ‘peaked’ portico was also added at this time. A 1971 photo shows an unstuccoed front, and a more modern-style rectilinear portico above the door (which could have been added anytime between the 20s and the 50s most likely).
Last edited by newsposter on Thu Jul 10, 2008 5:37 pm, edited 5 times in total.
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Beltline rooming house office conversion (Hamilton Terrace)

Postby newsposter » Sun Aug 20, 2006 1:02 pm

Image

Hamilton Terrace, a Beltline rooming house recently connected to a well-publicized murder, may be converted into office space. Full story at this link (free access as of this writing)
http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/new ... 05&k=90710

CHI's response to the application is below. Here is a link to a pdf of the proposal going to Calgary Planning Commission on Thursday August 24:
http://www.calgary.ca/docgallery/BU/pla ... 6_0064.pdf


RE: File Number LOC2006-0064
Hamilton Terrace

August 2, 2006

File Manager: Dwayne Drobot

Hamilton Terrace (the property in question) is a very good example of a
purpose-built rooming house from the period prior to World War One. The
exterior of the building appears to be in fairly original condition and
seems structurally sound. The brick at the front of the building was
stuccoed over sometime in the 1970s, and the portico is also a recent
addition, but these unsympathetic modifications can be repaired. The
building is not currently on the muncipal inventory of potential historic
sites, but it is likely eligible for the list and should be evaluated. A
variety of building types and uses defined the neighbourhood character 90
years ago and are still considered assets in the community.

The Calgary Heritage Initiative Society supports the application of the
owner to include office uses, as we support the adaptive reuse of historic
buildings. But we do ask that the heritage value of the building be
maintained as a condition of the change of land use. The Beltline ARP
generally supports the preservation of older buildings through conversion
to other uses, and more specifically supports the conversion of buildings
on the heritage inventory and houses built prior to 1950. It also supports
flexibility in parking requirements for buildings on the heritage
inventory. The change of use and the parking relaxation would be more
strongly supported if the land use also assured the retention of the
building’s significant historic elements, through sympathetic repair and
renovation, to the satisfaction of the Heritage Planner.

For example, the original exterior appearance finishes and structure of
the building should be restored and not be significantly or
unsympathetically altered. The integrity of the building should not be
compromised by uncomplimentary additions or structures. And interior
finishes and structural elements (e.g. stairs) that remain from when the
building was first constructed should also be re-used and restored without
significant alteration to the extent possible. Finally, the owner may wish
to consider municipal designation as certain benefits are available to
designated buildings under the Beltline ARP.

We recognize that this has been a ‘troubled’ building and that flexibility
is required. At the same time, the heritage potential of the building has
perhaps been overlooked. We want to commend the owner for taking this step
to finding a new and productive use for Hamilton Terrace.

Sincerely,

Jacky Durrie
Member
Calgary Heritage Initiative Society

Bob van Wegen
External Director
Calgary Heritage Initiative Society

cc. Ald. Madeleine King
Darryl Cariou, Heritage Planner
Beltline Planning Group

*********************************************
The following is from a follow-up note to Calgary Planning Commission:

Hamilton Terrace LOC2006-0064

The Calgary Heritage Initiative applauds the adaptive reuse of this
Beltline rooming house, and we expressed our general support for the
change of use application in our letter of August 2, 2006 to the File
Manager, Dwayne Drobot. The Administration report calls for retention of
the building and references its potential heritage value. But the report
is implicit not explicit in asking that the heritage elements of the
building be respected in the renovation. While the details will presumably
be addressed at DP stage, it would be helpful if CPC gave clear direction
by requiring that that repair and renovation be sympathetic to the
building’s historic character.
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Postby newsposter » Fri Aug 25, 2006 3:04 pm

On August 24, 2006 Calgary Planning Commission approved the conversion of the Hamilton Terrace rooming house to office uses. See above for more information. On October 16, the proposal will go to City Council. In the meantime, the building was recently declared unfit for human habitation.

Notorious house condemned (Excerpt)

Sherri Zickefoose, Calgary Herald
Published: Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Health officials have condemned a Beltline rooming house that was the centre of a murder investigation. The move sent its last remaining residents packing...

The move to clear out the building follows planning commission approval of a land-use amendment allowing the owners to turn it into an office building. City planners said the zoning change will help revitalize the neighbourhood...

Full story (pay) http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/new ... 356f36b830
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Postby newsposter » Wed Jun 13, 2007 9:07 am

More news of "Hamilton Terrace", a 'notorious' pre-WW1 rooming house in the Beltline being converted to offices. See ^ for more.

Owner of drug haven fined record $25,000

Joel Kom Calgary Herald
Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Excerpt below. Full story at the link:
http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/new ... c061e0af10

The owner of a notorious rooming house that was a longtime haven for prostitutes and drug users pleaded guilty to several fire code violations...

The house in the 300 block of 14th Avenue S.W., known to some as the Shooting Gallery or the White House, was declared unfit to live in by the Calgary Health Region last September because of mould and other problems.

Monday's guilty plea... was in large part a product of the tenants who lived in the building, said Joseph Keryo, president of A.J.K. Development Ltd., the building's owner... (He also) said he inherited many of the building's problems when he bought it in October 2005...

Keryo said he is happy to pay the fine and move on. The company's guilty plea will bring an end to the building's 67-year run as a rooming house, he added. It's being converted into office space.

jkom@theherald.canwest.com

© The Calgary Herald 2007
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Postby newsposter » Sun Jul 15, 2007 4:55 pm

More on planned office conversion of the old Hamilton Terrace rooming house in the Beltline (most recently a notorious "crack house"). Just goes to show that even badly abused historic buildings can bounce back and find new uses. Good luck to the new owner!

See above for more including photos.

July 13 2007 article free as of this posting:

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/new ... 6f&k=28995

Photo Leah Hennel, Calgary Herald
Image
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Postby newsposter » Thu Jul 10, 2008 5:36 pm

Hamilton Terrace, still boarded up, is up for sale. We believe it is the same owner as the Cowsill House (see elsewhere on the website), another boarded-up historic building which is also for sale.
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Re: Beltline rooming house - Hamilton Terrace

Postby newsposter » Sat Dec 06, 2014 2:21 pm

Still boarded up and under different ownership, the property received a demolition order many months ago, but remains standing. The property is again for sale, as "vacant", but indicates it is "unknown" if it might be able to be rehabilitated. The current zoning provides some advantages if the existing building remains, as it was previously rezoned for office conversion. See above posts. http://www.royallepage.ca/en/property/a ... INsnXl0wcA
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Re: Beltline rooming house - Hamilton Terrace

Postby mariareese » Wed Mar 09, 2016 12:53 am

Is the properties are still exists or sold?
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Re: Beltline rooming house - Hamilton Terrace

Postby newsposter » Wed Mar 09, 2016 3:40 pm

Still exists!
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