$1.4M donation allows Concordia to purchase Magrath Mansion
Students will be hitting the books at the historic Magrath Mansion after the Concordia University of Edmonton (CUE) acquired the building with the help of the largest donation in school history.
A $1.425-million gift donation from the Braaksma family, the mansion's previous owners, helped the university make the purchase. The remaining $1.75 million was paid in cash by the school, said university president and vice-chancellor Tim Loreman.
Loreman said the university's possible uses for the building are endless.
“From hosting events on the lawn, to bringing guest lecturers and holding seminar classes in the library, to educating visitors on the property's history and architecture, we cannot wait to begin welcoming our students, our faculty, staff and the community here in the near future,” said Loreman.
Loreman said it's the role of universities to be involved with knowledge preservation and acquiring the mansion does that.
He said the community will still be able to come and see the property on a regular basis.
Nellie Braaksma lived in the Magrath Mansion at 6240 Ada Blvd. NW for more than 20 years, acquiring it with her late husband Sid Braaksma in 2000, and said it was just too big for her to live there on her own. The mansion, built in 1912 and 1913, features six bedrooms, five bathrooms and covers five municipal city lots.
“I'm sure they will love it. We got lots of bedrooms, so they can invite a lot of people over and to sleep over,” said Braaksma with a laugh. “We had lots of Christmas parties, open houses, weddings, really all sorts of things and we had a great time during that.”
Braaksma said her favourite memories from living in the three-storey mansion were at the beginning when they started fixing up the place. She said they painted and changed the electricity and the sewage pipe.
It took about one and a half years to get it all done and move in.
The mansion was declared a provincial historic resource in 1975 and Loreman said the property will remain much as it was when it was first built.
“The Magrath Mansion has been an important part of so many lives,” said Braaksma. “We've been fortunate to welcome visitors from around the world to the property to admire and appreciate it, and I am very happy that it will continue to have a presence and make an impact as part of CUE.”
James Wakelin, president of the CUE students' association, said acquiring the mansion allows students to study it, admire it and learn from it.
“The possibilities are endless,” said Wakelin.
“The students will be really excited to explore the possibilities of the different events we can hold here, the grounds are beautiful and amazing.”