City could lose land if it closes Inglewood pool in January

It's possible that if the City of Calgary closes the Inglewood swimming pool in January to save money that the decision could cost it more than just the pool.

A covenant on the property, dating back to 1964, gives the owner of the former Inglewood brewery lands the first option to buy back the land if it is no longer used for a public swimming pool.

The city refused a request from CBC News to comment on the covenant or say if it could factor into the decision of what to do with the pool.

Both the Inglewood and Beltline pools are slated to close in January 2020 due to budget cuts. Officials have said the pools are not profitable because of a lack of patrons.

The former owners of the Inglewood brewery lands, the Cross family, agreed to sell the land to the city in the 1960s for a nominal fee on the condition the land be used for a public swimming pool.

Covenant remains in place, brewery land owner says

The current owner of the brewery lands, Matco, confirmed the covenant remains in place.

But a company official would not comment on whether it would exercise the option to buy back the property for the original selling price should the city shut down the pool.

The covenant was signed for the city on July 23, 1964, by then mayor Grant MacEwan.

An official with the Inglewood Community Association, Naomi Withers, said given the covenant, she's hoping the city finds a way to either keep the pool open or find a private operator who can keep the facility accessible to the public.

Otherwise, it will save less money than expected by closing the facility.

"If the city goes to sell the land, they don't recoup any value," said Withers

"A lot in Inglewood goes for $500,000 for a bare lot for a home and so the city isn't able to make that profit for holding that land for the last 60-plus years."

Mayor Naheed Nenshi said last week the city is interested in seeing whether there is any private interest in taking over the operations of both the Inglewood and the Beltline pools.

But the mayor said it's hard to gauge what might be possible.

"The challenge is these two facilities are quite a bit older so their operating costs are higher than you would expect in a brand new facility in terms of heating and air conditioning and whatever else," said Nenshi.

City council's committee on community and protective services is expected to discuss the pool issue at its next meeting on Wednesday.