Future of 101-year-old Calgary school building up in the air as community pushes to save it

CALGARY -

The historic Riverside Bungalow School building has stood tall since 1920, but it's also been sitting vacant for several years and now the Calgary Board of Education (CBE) intends to sell the property.

The Bridgeland-Riverside Community Association (BRCA) is now pushing for the 101-year-old building to be properly designated as a historic resource, otherwise the school could be torn down.

"It would be a huge blow to us and to the entire community -- the entire city, really -- and anybody who is interested in heritage. Because it is heritage building, it's important," said Deb Lee, who leads the BRCA's heritage committee.

Gian-Carlo Carra, the Ward 9 councillor, said he only learned that the building could be sold last week. He says he will be asking city administration to look into whether a partnership could save the building.

"I'm planning on asking a question on November 15 at (city council's) question period about how can we do this better in the future? And what specifically can we do about this situation?" Carra said Wednesday.

"I hope there's an opportunity to go back to the school board and say, 'Hey, why don't we look at the whole site?'," he added.

Carra says there may be an opportunity to come up with long-term plan to preserve the old school building and reconfigure the school yard area and better use it for the nearby Riverside School, which is located on the other side of 1 Ave. NE.

Bridgeland-Riverside school, Calgary, Nov.3, 2021

He says the city was asked by the CBE whether there was a municipal use for the building and it was determined it wasn't needed by any city departments.

The school board says it also has no more use for it.

"The most recent use for the building was for administrative purposes, but it has not been occupied for a number of years," reads an emailed statement from the CBE.

"It occupies the same lot as Riverside School and the lot is being subdivided to increase the options available to the CBE for the property."

Riverside Bungalow School was built after the First World War to accommodate an increase in school children in the area. It's one of three identical schoolhouses built in the city at the time that are still standing.

"Right now it could be demolished, it could be significantly altered. So, in the process of it being sold, it'll be sold as-is and a new owner will be free to do with it what they please," said Josh Traptow with Heritage Calgary.

Lee, the BRCA heritage committee lead, hopes the future of the old building will be reconsidered now that the public is aware it could be torn down.

"When we've got buildings like this that are public buildings, they are real treasures and we can't just turn away and let nature take its course," she said.