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

You might have seen the MacLean house in Ramsay. It's hard to miss at the top of MacDonald Avenue with its distinctive red brick.

That 1910 home will soon come down, replaced by a multi-unit complex covering the footprint of several adjacent homes.

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

"I think that this could, unfortunately, be a record year for demolitions in Calgary, which I think is a really sad thing," Traptow told the Calgary Eyeopener in a Thursday interview.

"I think we need to have some serious conversations as a city: How do we value our heritage?"

The MacLean home is just the most recent example.

Since Calgary's blanket rezoning changes in May of last year, some single-family homes are being replaced by housing for multiple families.

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

"Set up on that embankment. It's an interesting example of the Queen Anne revival style of architecture, with the four square, somewhat simple design but also very elegant."

Alexander MacLean lived in the home from 1912 to 1928, with sons Donald and George. The family ran MacLean Auction Mart for many years.

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The MacLean home is listed in the Inventory of Evaluated Historic Resources but that doesn't provide legal protection.

"In Alberta, the owner has to be the one that initiates that designation," Traptow said.

The structure replacing the MacLean home will cover the footprint of several homes, from 1016 to 1026 on Eighth Street S.E., according to the developer.

Twenty housing units are planned in multi-storey rowhouses with 40 parking stalls, according to a January proposal document from the developer.

Cover Art said it tried to preserve and integrate the MacLean home into the new project, called MacLean Court, but a "catastrophic" flood in December caused damage that put that option economically out of reach.

"To commemorate the legacy of the MacLean residence, Hindle Architects has designed a prominent street-oriented building meant to act as a striking new gateway to Ramsay, echoing the impact of the MacLean residence for the next century within a built form that aligns with municipal policy of modest growth in Calgary's inner city," Cover Art said.

"Also part of the commemoration approach is the project name, derived from the family that once inhabited the residence."

A demolition date hasn't been set.