'Baffling and hurtful': Residents of Eau Claire complex slated for demolition question city's tactics

Residents of a townhome complex in Eau Claire set to be torn down to make way for the Green Line say the way the city has handled the situation has been unfair, baffling and hurtful.

All 23 units at River Run, just north of Eau Claire Market, are now owned by the city after the land was expropriated.

"I think for there to be a negotiation, there needs to be two parties talking to each other and in our case, that hasn't happened," said Gordon Holden, who moved into one of the townhomes in 2000.

"The city has thrown its legal missiles in our direction and refused really to negotiate with us on a fair basis."

Holden is one of five now-former owners of the townhomes who spoke to CTV News.

They say they haven't been treated fairly by the city, both in the compensation offered to them and in the way the city has communicated with them during the years-long process.

"We've all accepted that our homes are going to be expropriated for the city's purposes. We get that. I think what we're looking for is a fair process to get to how we are put in some situation after this that we can live with," Holden said.

"It's been baffling and hurtful."

A statement from the city says expropriation is never the preferred method of acquisition when negotiating with property owners.

"With respect to the River Run townhouses, the City of Calgary has provided proposed payments to the owners in accordance with the Expropriation Act," the statement reads in part.

A link provided in the statement said the city makes its offers based on what's determined to be market value and "it may not necessarily coincide with the assessed value placed on the property by the city's assessment department."

City officials did not agree to a request for an on-camera interview and specific questions posed by CTV News were not answered by the time of this writing.

Residents of a townhome complex in Eau Claire set to be torn down to make way for the Green Line say the way the city has handled the situation has been unfair, baffling and hurtful.

Offers below value: residents

The River Run properties have between two and four bedrooms, with underground parking, a communal courtyard and large outdoor patios.

Residents say the city's offers are well below value.

"For the 20 units, the average they came in was in the ($800,000s) and no one can buy something comparable close by in their chosen community for anything close to that," said Patrick Lindsay, another resident.

Joel Gaucher bought his unit in the complex 18 years ago and says he had planned for it to be his forever home.

"We've got 2,300 square feet of livable space. We're right on the river, just south of Prince's Island -- some of the most valuable real estate in the city," Gaucher said.

"The only properties that are at least, you know, similar to this in terms of size with not as nice of a location are going north of $2 million.

"I don't know that we'll ever buy a property in Calgary."

Communication issues

River Run residents say they've collectively spent around $340,000 to launch a provincial inquiry to look into the expropriation decision and the process taken by the city up to last summer.

A 59-page report found, in part, "transparent and forthright communication from the city to the owners was in short supply or clearly absent."

In the July 2023 report, inquiry officer Sharon Roberts also wrote the time it took the city to launch its formal expropriation was "excessive by any measure."

Roberts went on to say the city's failure to openly communicate "created material prejudice to the owners and the state of 'limbo' in which several owners found themselves."

"(The city has) chosen not to talk to us," said Jane Lindsay, who lives in a corner unit with a second-storey kitchen that overlooks the lagoon and river area.

"They've used their power against us and they've used it all the time. So it's been very frustrating."

The residents say the city has not reimbursed them for the costs associated with the provincial inquiry -- something that's required under Alberta's Expropriation Act.

They now say they're determining whether to hire independent assessors or whether to apply for a provincial tribunal.