Defying Location
Conserving Buildings - Revitalizing Neighbourhoods

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When it comes to location, the A. Macdonald Building truly offers a challenge. The new owner, Dan White, acknowledges, "It's a prominent structure that deserves to be seen in a more positive light. It is unfortunate that it is perceived as being on 'the wrong side of the tracks,' but we're hopeful that eventually that perception will change and we'll see more business people living and working in the area."

The expression "wrong side of the tracks" suggests that the area north of 104th Avenue (which previously demarked lands used by CN) represents a difference in the physical and social environments, similar to the area in which the Hecla Block is located. Central McDougall was, for the most part, zoned for single-family use until the 1960s, when zoning was changed to allow for higher density apartments in response to intense development pressures. It has all of the constraints of the Boyle/McCauley neighbourhood with the addition of arcades, casinos, liquor stores, and bars. Social problems are evident, police officers scarce, and both residents and people who live outside the area perceive it as an area of high crime and unsafe streets.

White intends to rehabilitate the warehouse for housing and hopes to tap into the affordable housing market as well as attract people who work downtown and students from nearby Grant MacEwan Community College. Along with various financial incentives to take on the challenge, White is attempting to capitalize on other opportunities such as its central location, availability of community services, good schools, and the area's untapped development potential.

As soon as the use of a building changes from storage to housing, the level of health and safety requirements of a building increases dramatically.

Partridge explains, "In terms of the heritage buildings that our firm has worked on, the change of use is quite different. Most of our previous involvement with heritage buildings has involved restoration rather than adaptive reuse"

These are important examples of historic buildings, which are prime candidates for being brought back as integral components of neighbourhoods. The key is that they become living buildings, not static displays of a bygone era. They can be seen as being both architectural and social rehabilitation projects. They can provide communities with a sense of connectedness to their past while leaving a legacy for present and future generations to enjoy.

As U.S. Congressman John Brademas comments in Barbaralee Diamonstein's Buildings Reborn: New Uses, Old Places, "When we thoughtlessly obliterate the building and places of our past, we demonstrate an insensitivity to what we were, a disdain for what we in part still are. By saving [and adapting to reuse] the best of our old buildings, we link the communities of today to the foundations of our culture."

With this type of heritage conservation, more is achieved than simply keeping hard-hats occupied and preservationists happy. It is possible that the conservation of these buildings will have significant and positive long-term spinoff benefits to their communities. The most significant benefits are more likely to be non-tangible, like relieving some of the social burdens, starting with occupancy. Vacant or derelict buildings often attract and facilitate undesirable activities; but the demolition of such resources (particularly those that may have heritage value) is not only a cultural tragedy, it usually results in the proliferation of undesirable vacant and derelict land. These two projects are consistent with Plan Edmonton and Area Redevelopment Plan objectives in that they both reinvest in mature neighbourhoods and make the most of what has already been built.

If these examples underscored the importance of the built environment to the liveability of cities, that would be progress. If they served as a catalyst for re-thinking how important the city's remaining heritage is, resulting in a more reflective and more appropriate attitude towards heritage conservation, that, too, would be progress. If all of this resulted in an appreciation of the past, a respect for authenticity, and a realization that "new" is not a prerequisite for progress; that conserving historic buildings is a positive factor in revitalizing neighbourhoods, it would be another kind of progress, a non-tangible benefit that society as a whole desperately needs.

Murray G. Miller has been a heritage planner for the cities of Edmonton and Victoria.

This article has been reprinted with permission from Legacy, Alberta's Cultural Heritage Magazine, and the author.

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