Town and Country Motor Inn starting new life as shelter for families
For nearly five decades the Town and Country Motor Inn saw countless parties in its bars and gave travelling truckers a place to rest and clean up from the road.
But there was also a darker side.
"(It held) a lot of good memories for a lot of people (but) it also brought a lot of drugs, prostitution, murder," said Jacquie Meyer, with Victory Foundation.
The organization, which started out as a street church in the early 90's, bought the notorious property for $4 million last year and set about gutting its rooms and common areas with plans to give it new life as a refuge for vulnerable families.
"So what were looking to do here is to develop 48 more units for women, women with children and seniors," said Matthew Bannerman, director of housing with Victory. "We're getting so many referrals, obviously there's an incredible need in Calgary."
The foundation is in the process of putting another $7 million into the building, which will include retail space, a group kitchen and cafeteria as well as wellness supports for eventual residents.
The foundation also runs more than 70 beds in Ogden as well as an outreach program for sex trade workers and other exploited women called HER Victory.
"We want these individuals to have their stories to end better than they started," said Meyer.
Fundraising is still underway to complete the project, but roughly $2.2 million has been raised so far.
Organizers are hoping to have the building open late in 2023.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.