Developer opens disused brewery site to Inglewood residents

A Calgary developer hoping to demolish parts of a vacant, century-old brewery site gave a tour of the complex Wednesday in an effort to mitigate the concerns of area residents.

Some Inglewood residents have been lobbying city and provincial officials to have the former Molson brewery site declared a heritage site, and about 100 people attended a town hall meeting on the issue this month.

In May, the property owner and developer Ron Mathison applied for a demolition permit, which would allow him to demolish structures occupying about 100,000 square feet of the 500,000-square-foot site due to health and safety concerns. But within weeks, the Alberta government ordered a heritage assessment to determine whether some or all of the buildings should be saved because they may be historically significant.

That puts Mathison's demolition plans on hold until the assessment is complete.

The City of Calgary lists the original Calgary Brewery, with some parts dating back to 1892, as one of the city's most significant heritage sites.

Provincial documents note the brewery's role in the city's early industrial development single out the varied architectural designs of the site's 16 structures. Some of the site's heritage value also comes from its association with prominent Calgary entrepreneur and politician A.E. Cross, who established the brewery.

A media tour of the site Wednesday revealed dripping water pooled on the ground, pigeons flying overhead and crumbling plaster and beams — issues that would cost a lot of money to repair if the buildings were deemed worth saving. Much of the property has been closed since Molson closed its brewery in 1994. A public tour of the buildings is being planned, a spokesman said.

"The owner is concerned about the hazards that are on the site and the safety of people working on the site and anyone that may enter the buildings," said Eileen Stan, a spokesman for the developer.

Stan said elements of the site could be preserved in ways other than a complete restoration. "I think there are a number of different ways of preserving and acknowledging historical significance in a site of this nature. Part of that can be done through the architecture and the buildings that are on site. Part of it can be done through documentation and other interpretive kinds of ways."

Gian Carlo Carra, president of the Inglewood Community Association, said Mathison's attempt to reach out and work with the community and province is a positive step.

"We're hugely supportive of intense redevelopment of the site so it can become a centre again," said Carra. "We just want to make sure that that moves forward with a very clear respect for and celebration of the site's heritage."