Sale of heritage fire hall could displace pub
Hose & Hound may be forced to vacate
Abeloved Inglewood pub housed inside an old fire station is feeling the heat from the city’s decision to put its lease out to tender.
For years, patrons have slaked their thirst inside Fire Hall No. 3, which houses the Hose and Hound Neighbourhood Pub.
The heritage building is one on the city’s list for disposal, or to be sold to a private buyer.
It’s hoped the sale of the brick building will boost the city’s heritage fund for upkeep of municipal properties in use.
But not everyone is pleased with the decision.
“I’m deeply concerned about the Hose and Hound Pub,” Ald. Gian-Carlo Carra said at Monday’s council meeting.
“I’m deeply conflicted about our mission to put this into a free-for-all. I’ll be bitterly disappointed if we drive the Hose and Hound — a legacy pub within the community of Inglewood — out for who knows what.”
The city has long been looking at selling off decaying historic buildings to help pay for maintenance that adds up to millions.
Officials have said all the properties would be legally protected, prohibiting demolition and making any changes to heritage aspects subject to approval.
Carra said the pub faces lower rent in exchange for paying for the heritage building’s upkeep.
“Their sweetheart deal of a lease is coming to an end and they’ve been notified of that. They’ve been supportive in finding another tenure that makes sense for them as a business that makes sense for the community and that makes sense to the city,” he said.
“I’m just concerned that our scrupulous unwillingness to deal with long established tenants in a reasonable way out of some misfired sense of propriety is really making it difficult to cultivate the kind of relationships and businesses that make a city function.”
Mayor Naheed Nenshi said council needs to be cautious.
“The argument we made is we have got to test the market on these things. I’m hopeful that the tenant who wants to buy the building is a good one, but I think it’s important for us to look at the market for this stuff.”
Now, it goes out to market for bidding.
The property is assessed at $1.49 million.
The pub owners are said to be disappointed with council’s decision but willing to compete in the bidding.
For years, Chuck Rose has made no secret that he’s been keenly interested in buying the property from the city at fair market value. He also wanted the first bid. “I think they’ve been very good stewards of the building,” said Chris Ollenberger, who is representing the pub.
“That said, there’s always challenges in operating out of a heritage building.
“They have a very strong desire to stay. They’ve got a great customer base and a loyal staff.”
Rose was served with notice last May that the property is ready for “disposal” or to be sold to a private buyer.
“We have been solid tenants for years, have become a part of the fabric of the neighbourhood,” Rose wrote in a letter to city hall.
In exchange for lower rent, Rose said he has invested nearly a quarter of a million dollars into maintenance and repairs.
“Given that we have invested significantly into the building, have become a key part of the community, have been solid and dependable tenants and wish to continue operating in a heritage building like our old fire hall, we would appreciate the City of Calgary giving us consideration typical of any landlord that has decided to sell a property,” Rose wrote.
Supporting Carra was Ald. Shane Keating, who said he couldn’t support the motion.
“I can’t support this for the sake of a dollar we send this business packing,” Keating said.
Other aldermen didn’t want to change the process.
The heritage buildings that could be put on the market are ones that have no municipal use and were analyzed against the city’s triple bottom line policy. One advantage of the sales is the city no longer has to pay for major repairs and upgrades.