Calgary flood-damaged homes' demolition reprieve relieves neighbours

Neighbours living near 17 empty houses along the Elbow River in Calgary that werebought by the province and slated for demolition after the June 2013 floodare relieved to hear the province has reversed its plan for now.

The inner-city homes all deemed to be in the floodway were bought by the government for about $45 million and have been sitting empty ever since.

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Alberta Infrastructure had planned to raze the houses soon, then announcedearlier this week that the demolition was on hold and many of the houses might not be destroyed after all. The move camein the wake of the recent announcement of theSpringbankOff-Stream Reservoir, which willbe built upstream from the Elbow River.

Though manylandowners in theSpringbankareaandBraggCreekwere upset with the reservoir idea, it willbenefit inner-city Calgary neighbourhoods.

Brenda Leeds-Binder, co-presidentof the Calgary River Communities Action Group, has said all along that it doesn't make sense to demolish the homes.

"We think it's an excellent decision. It's consistent with what we've been advocating for the last two and a half years."

Leeds-Binder says if the floodway is considered unsafe then they either need to clear it entirely which is not practical in the city or figure out a different way to keep people safe, which she agrees has been done with the Springbank reservoir.

"It seems almost arbitrary the way some are deemed floodway, others around them aren't, some of them are perfectly habitable," said Leeds-Binder, who lives near several of the vacant homes.

On some streets, as many as 30 per cent of the homes are vacant.

She says most people were generally opposed to the demolition policy after it was announced shortly after the 2013 floods. Of the 50 homeowners across the city who were eligible for a provincial buyout, only 17 took up the offer.

"I think a number of those 17 took (the buyout) rather reluctantly. They only took it because they were concerned about the future value of their property. Butdidn't really want to leave the neighbourhood or their homes."

Magnet for crime

The condition of the homes varies. Some were renovated while others have remained flood damaged and are in poor shape and need to be torn down anyway.

One of the downsides is that whenthe homes are left empty, inevitably they are a magnet for crime

Such is the case with three of the homes on 40th Avenue S.W. near Leeds-Binders' house that were bought by the government and remained vacant.

"They've attracted activities such as drinking and partying behind the homes. And just generally a feeling for the neighbours that are still living across the street, it's not a safe situation and it's not a neighbourhood feeling," she said.

If the government had followed through on the plan, the neighbourhood would end up looking like a "patchwork of park areas in between homes," also a worry for neighbours that it would also attract problems.

Devaluing properties

Property value is also a concern for the remaining homeowners.

"If you're living across the street from three abandoned homes that haven't been torn down yet, it doesn't leave your house very attractive in a sales situation."

Ultimately, Leeds-Binder would like to see the properties go back on the market.

"I think it's case by case, but I think it would be great if that land got back into the private sector and those homes could be occupied. Having 17 homes being removed from the banks of the Elbow River achieves nothing and it costs over $45 million to purchase those properties."

Infrastructure Minister Brian Mason commented on Monday that the province is reviewing all options for the 17 homes.

"The question is, does it make sense to selectively demolish homes or can we rehabilitate some of these houses and return them to the market?Or, if they have to come down, sell the lots so the neighbourhood isn't adversely affected."