City accepting offers on Connaught Armoury building for 2 more weeks

One of Edmonton's oldest buildings is up for sale. Matt Woodman takes a tour of the Connaught Armoury with a look at its past and what its future may hold.

The City of Edmonton is accepting offers on the former Connaught Armoury in Strathcona.

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The two-storey brick building, which is roughly 1,400 square metres in size and a provincial and municipal historical site, sits on about 2,230 square metres of land.

The city listed the property for $2.5 million in the spring and will accept offers until mid-September.

“We would like to see offers come in that utilize the historical building as they will have to follow those (provincial and municipal historical) designations. But as well, with the extra land, to potentially see some development to bring some more vibrancy to the area,” Carolyn Bull, acting director of property transactions, told CTV News Edmonton in a recent interview.

Of course, the city would be interested in a buyer with ideas about housing, but otherwise Bull called the city “open” to proposals.

“It’s very rare that a building like this has come on the market, but also with the development potential on site. You know, we could see a really interesting integrated site, which you don’t see often.”

Armoury history

Construction of the building for the 19th Alberta Dragoons was finished in 1911, making it the oldest existing armoury in the province. It was named after the Duke of Connaught.

Soldiers who fought in both World Wars were trained at the armoury.

“This is a very good example of a building this age, and it’s in fairly good shape for something that’s over 115 years (old),” said city archivist Kathryn Ivany.

The Canadian Armed Forces used the property in different capacities until 1965, when it was sold to the City of Edmonton, which eventually led to the space hosting a series of restaurants and bars including, most notably, Garfield’s and Club Malibu.

“This was the hopping place to be in the Club Malibu days,” recalled Ivany, who was a University of Alberta history student at the time. “(It) was very dark, very loud music. Lot’s of good friends that would come here fairly regularly and get together and dance.”

Standing in the space during daylight decades later, she commented, “I’m surprised at how light it is… And there are so many historical features in here which are truly beautiful.”

Since 2008, the building has served as a youth emergency shelter.

“It’s always been a gathering place for lots of people,” Ivany said.

Looking ahead

Although the city is the armoury’s sole seller, any development by a buyer will need to be approved by both the city and province due to the dual historical designation. It is currently zoned for multi-unit housing, education and some commercial uses. Changing some features – such as the arched windows – will be off the table. So is demolishing the building.

“There are lots of interesting developers in the city who are doing interesting things with historic buildings so I’m really looking forward to seeing what could come out of this space,” Ivany said.

She works in the Prince of Wales Armouries south of Kingsway.

“I think a lot of Edmontonians fear that old buildings are hard to deal with….I think they provide a very interesting place to work, and something that people who are working in the space can be very proud of.”

Bull said there has been “quite a bit of interest” in the site, as well as a wide range of ideas for potential uses.

“The building was well used, well loved, and we’re looking forward to seeing that in a different way,” she said.

Finalizing the sale could take several months.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Matt Woodman