'Record year for demolitions': Calgary heritage expert laments blanket rezoning

David Bell · CBC News

· Posted: May 08, 2025 4:06 PM EDT | Last Updated: 15 minutes ago

You mightiness person seen the MacLean location successful Ramsay. It's hard to miss astatine the apical of MacDonald Avenue with its distinctive reddish brick.

That 1910 location volition soon travel down, replaced by a multi-unit analyzable covering the footprint of respective adjacent homes.

Josh Traptow with Heritage Calgary doesn't emotion that idea.

"I deliberation that this could, unfortunately, beryllium a grounds twelvemonth for demolitions successful Calgary, which I deliberation is simply a truly bittersweet thing," Traptow told the Calgary Eyeopener successful a Thursday interview.

"I deliberation we request to person immoderate superior conversations arsenic a city: How bash we worth our heritage?"

The MacLean location is conscionable the astir caller example.

Since Calgary's broad rezoning changes successful May of past year, immoderate single-family homes are being replaced by lodging for aggregate families.

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"It's a landmark," Traptow said of the MacLean home.

"Set up connected that embankment. It's an absorbing illustration of the Queen Anne revival benignant of architecture, with the 4 square, somewhat elemental plan but besides precise elegant."

Alexander MacLean lived successful the location from 1912 to 1928, with sons Donald and George. The household ran MacLean Auction Mart for galore years.

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The MacLean location is listed successful the Inventory of Evaluated Historic Resources but that doesn't supply ineligible protection.

"In Alberta, the proprietor has to beryllium the 1 that initiates that designation," Traptow said.

The operation replacing the MacLean location volition screen the footprint of respective homes, from 1016 to 1026 connected Eighth Street S.E., according to the developer.

Twenty lodging units are planned successful multi-storey rowhouses with 40 parking stalls, according to a January connection papers from the developer.

Cover Art said it tried to sphere and integrate the MacLean location into the caller project, called MacLean Court, but a "catastrophic" flood successful December caused harm that enactment that option economically retired of reach.

"To commemorate the bequest of the MacLean residence, Hindle Architects has designed a salient street-oriented gathering meant to enactment arsenic a striking caller gateway to Ramsay, echoing the interaction of the MacLean residence for the adjacent period wrong a built signifier that aligns with municipal argumentation of humble maturation successful Calgary's interior city," Cover Art said.

"Also portion of the commemoration attack is the task name, derived from the household that erstwhile inhabited the residence."

A demolition day hasn't been set.