Petition to save historical ring houses at U of A growing

Historical buildings up for demolition Four, century-old buildings at the University of Alberta are slated to be demolished. CTV News Edmonton’s Carlyle Fiset reports.

EDMONTON — A petition to save four historical ring houses – one of which was built in 1912 – at the University of Alberta from being demolished is growing.

“There’s very keen public interest in these buildings, the four ring houses, and the future of those buildings,” said Ryan Dunch, a professor of history at the U of A. “I think that introduces a new factor that ought to be considered in assessing what to do with them.”

According to the university, the buildings do not align with their current academic and fiscal plans.

“The university’s Integrated Asset Management Strategy focuses on better using the university’s own space by reducing leases, appropriately renewing or disposing of buildings and prioritizing where the university needs to invest its limited resources to address deferred maintenance,” said Andrew Sharman, vice president of facilities and operations.

“Wherever possible, we strive to extend the life of our given infrastructure.”

The ring houses were decommissioned in 2020.

The university has, in other cases, worked to repurpose and restore older infrastructure like Rutherford Library and Pembina Hall.

University students, faculty and staff were told at a town hall it would cost between $1.5 million and $2 million each to make the buildings usable, according to Dunch.

“Given their size and purpose-built design as individual, family dwellings, they do not provide enough space for modern teaching, research or work activities,” said Sharman. “While we’ve done our best to make the most of them, they have failed to meet the space needs of our modern community.

The plan is to demolish the buildings and turn the area into a green space. Sharman said it would provide a place to enjoy the river valley, study, and attend outdoor lectures.

In addition to the petition, an open letter was also sent to university leadership. It asked that the planned demolition be suspended for at least 12 months and for the university to initiate public consultation on the future of the buildings.

According to Sharman, the university has contacted groups like Fort Edmonton Park about taking over care for the buildings, but have not found anyone to do so.

Anyone willing and able to will be allowed to purchase and relocate any of the houses for $1 and the cost of moving, according to Dunch.

Items from the homes will be kept in the university museum collection, according to Sharman.

“The story of the houses will forever be a part of who we are, even if the bricks and mortar of the houses have expired,” said Sharman.

As of Tuesday at 1:15 p.m., the petition had 1,150 signatures.

With files from CTV News Edmonton's Carlyle Fiset