Province accepting proposals to save former Royal Alberta Museum building

A new request for proposals to preserve the old Royal Alberta Museum building is reviving hopes that the well-known structure can be saved from demolition. 

In a news release on Friday, the provincial government announced it is offering a final opportunity for proposals to either maintain or repurpose the vacant building in the Glenora neighbourhood in Edmonton.

The province estimates that the overall cost to repurpose the former museum site would be at least $150 million.

"If a community group can raise $150 million, and put together a great proposal, then we should be open to that," Premier Danielle Smith said at an unrelated news conference on Friday.

In a news release, Martin Long, Alberta's minister of infrastructure, said in response to public feedback, the province has created this last chance to "explore all avenues for repurposing the site."

This request marks a significant shift from the province's previous decision last August to tear down the former museum and replace it with a green space.

Since the old RAM building closed its doors to the public in December 2015, it has remained vacant. The province reports that the empty building continues to cost taxpayers more than $700,000 annually in operating and maintenance fees.

Last year, the province estimated that the cost to demolish the building would be between $22 and $48 million.

WATCH | One last opportunity to save the old RAM:

Former Royal Alberta Museum given another chance

3 days ago

Duration 2:07

The fate of an Alberta mounument could be changing. The former Royal Alberta Museum, which has sat empty for years, was slated for demolition. But as Emily Fitzpatrick explains, the provincial government is now giving Albertans one last chance to save it.

Stuart Adams, the chair of the Save the Old RAM task force, a community group that has been advocating for the preservation of the building, said the new opportunity for proposals is a major goal his organization has been working toward.

"Our intent was to get the government to stand back, take a sober look, and go to the market to find out how this building can be repurposed rather than razed," said Adams.

Adams said the building's location, materials, and design provide the space with major potential as a future resource, and that his group is open to any practical proposals that would save the historic structure.

"We feel that the market is better suited to [do] that and to consult the community, look at their resources, and identify the best use for this building because it is a special building," said Adams.

The vice-chair of the Save the Old RAM task force, Lewis Cardinal, said residents living around the building have been very receptive to the idea of preserving the structure.

"In Glenora …there is a tremendous amount of support from the local community to do something that's going to be unique, [and] that supports them," Cardinal said.

"They don't want to see this space lost. They want to make sure that it serves not only them but also everyone else."

LISTEN | Local advocacy organization works to preserve the former RAM building

Radio Active7:30Group aims to save the old RAM

An update for you now to a story we first brought you in the summer. That's when the province of Alberta announced it would be tearing down the old Royal Alberta Museum site. But there is a new group hoping to stop the work. Stuart Adams and Lewis Cardinal are two of the members of the Save the old RAM task force.