Calgary's beloved Ship & Anchor isn't being demolished, despite redevelopment signs

Karina Zapata · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 17, 2025 7:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 5 hours ago

If you stumble upon redevelopment signs adjacent the Ship & Anchor, don't panic excessively overmuch — the beloved Calgary pub isn't being torn down.

A pending onshore usage redesignation application submitted successful April has caused panic online and among regular Ship-goers, who interest what this means for the section landmark, which is celebrating its 35th day this year.

"The Ship & Anchor won't beryllium affected. The main level remains retail and is not being touched," said Manu Chugh, the applicant and designer down the project.

Alongside his lawsuit Strategic Group, Chugh told CBC News he's proposing to adhd 2 much storeys to the gathering that houses the Ship connected 17th Avenue S.W. He's besides proposing to person bureau abstraction supra the pub into residential units and demolish the ceramic gathering adjacent doorway to marque mode for much residential units, resulting in roughly 130 units successful total.

Chugh said his steadfast intends to guarantee the Ship & Anchor tin stay operational during construction. The metropolis is expected to marque a decision by October, arsenic the city's website says it is committed to making decisions connected onshore usage redesignation applications wrong 180 days.

The quality comes arsenic a alleviation for Calgarians who predominant the pub, but the Ship's management accidental they inactive person galore unanswered questions astir however the improvement would impact their operations.

Construction's interaction inactive unclear

Staff and customers person had galore questions for the Ship's absorption since a motion astir the projected onshore usage alteration went up adjacent doorway successful May, said Nicola Trolez, the pub's selling manager.

But they haven't made immoderate nationalist announcements, due to the fact that they don't person overmuch accusation to share.

"We haven't heard thing to the effect that the Ship would vanish done this process. We bash person galore years connected our lease. But we surely haven't had immoderate assurances either," said Trolez.

The wide interaction the projected improvement would person connected the Ship is inactive unknown, she said.

"We person concerns astir however the improvement volition impact the pub, volition impact our concern during the development, however it volition impact our patios, however it volition impact parking, however the accrued density of the caller gathering volition impact question postulation for our neighbours, for our community, for the radical that we stock the alley with," said Trolez.

"All of these are large concerns. We conscionable don't person immoderate answers yet. We anticipation that they travel soon enough, but I would ideate with a occupation this big, possibly determination are inactive immoderate questions that [developers] don't person answers to."

A long-time assemblage hub

The Ship is an important portion of Danielle French and Rodney Brent's story. So they accidental it's a immense alleviation the pub won't beryllium added to the database of different section unrecorded euphony venues that person relocated, similar the Blues Can and Mikey's Juke Joint.

As musicians, French and Brent started performing separately astatine the Ship astir 30 years ago. It's wherever they archetypal met, past became bully friends, past became a couple.

Now, decades later, they unrecorded backmost and distant betwixt Calgary and Nanton, astir an hr southbound of the city. And erstwhile they're backmost successful town, they ever marque definite to halt by the Ship & Anchor.

"So galore friendships, bands, relationships person been formed from this assemblage hub, which is conscionable a tribute to what it stands for arsenic a assemblage space," said French.

"It's not conscionable the nostalgia of like, 'Oh, backmost successful the day, it was truthful great.' It's inactive applicable contiguous and it's a multigenerational abstraction that has been portion of the assemblage for truthful long."

Mona Pinder, enforcement manager of the Alberta Hospitality Association, said the Ship & Anchor is simply a Calgary institution, and it's wherever galore hospitality workers spell astatine the extremity of their shifts.

"Everyone knows your name. I deliberation radical consciousness welcome," said Pinder.

Redevelopment tin beryllium an accidental for businesses to find bigger spaces, reinvent themselves and link with caller customers, said Pinder. But determination are often downsides, similar construction, which tin pb to businesses closing.

Pinder points to operation successful Marda Loop arsenic an example. A radical of businesses successful that southwest assemblage are suing the City of Calgary for $75 cardinal implicit an ongoing operation project.

"Ultimately, this volition beryllium a amended place. Marda Loop volition beryllium a much vibrant community. But the occupation is, the radical that are already there — the restaurants, the tiny businesses that person been determination for years — are they going to beryllium determination to get the benefits erstwhile this is each done?" said Pinder.

Pinder wants the metropolis to admit that delayed operation hurts businesses, and she wants developments to instrumentality to their timelines truthful restaurants tin program ahead.

CBC News reached retired to the City of Calgary for remark astir the redevelopment, but did not perceive backmost by the clip of publication.