Legislature Annex building being torn down, will become green space

Legislature Annex demo begins An iconic element at the Alberta Legislature will soon be gone, erased from the skyline and the grounds it has occupied since the 1950s.

EDMONTON — An iconic element at the Alberta Legislature will soon be gone, erased from the skyline and the grounds it has occupied since the 1950s.

Crews started to demolish the structure of the Legislature Annex building Tuesday morning after months of preparation.

"Finally this 70-year-old building is coming down, because refurbishing it is very expensive," Infrastructure Minister Prasad Panda said at the site.

The distinctive, turquoise office tower was built in 1951 and was originally occupied by Alberta Government Telephones (AGT).

An addition in 1964 brought it to 12 storeys, Panda said.

After AGT was privatized in 1991, the Annex became a government office tower for staff and MLAs.

Some have decried the demolition, including a local architect who saw it as an important piece of the city's architecture.

Panda said the cost to renovate the building was about $30 million and he claimed the majority of people he spoke to thought it was an "eyesore."

"The condition deteriorated because it was not well kept, so unfortunately we had to make the decision to bring it down,” he said.

That decision was made in September 2020 and the process of levelling the building was delayed after asbestos and mold was found inside.

The roughly 300 MLAs and employees who once worked in the building were relocated to other government offices, including in the Federal Building just a short walk north.

Panda said the structure should be levelled in five to six weeks.

The government plans to make the area a greenspace of some sort, and Panda said a community garden is being considered.