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Council gives intervention approval for Bentley Block redevelopment

Mar 22, 2019 | 1:34 PM

LETHBRIDGE – Lethbridge City Council has given the go ahead for an intervention to redevelop a one-story portion of the Bentley Block in the city’s downtown and to add an additional three stories to it.

At Monday’s meeting, Sarah McKay with Pure West Developments made a presentation to council, asking that they be allowed to remove a parapet on the top of the one-story heritage site that has been designated as a “character defining element,” so a modern, three-story addition could be constructed on top of it.

Last June, the owner of the Bentley Block, at 118-5 St. S., applied for and received a Municipal Historic Resource designation.

According to the City, “whenever the owner of an MHR wishes to carry out works to the property, which might affect its heritage value or character defining elements, they must first request an Intervention Approval.”

In September, the owner applied for a development permit to construct a three-story addition to the single-story portion of one of the heritage buildings on the block.

Then in late January, the Historic Places Advisory Committee (HPAC) recommended that City Council not issue the intervention approval because the proposed design would include the removal of a “character-defining” parapet on the single-story building.

On Monday (March 18), development shareholders of Lethbridge Downtown Living/ Pure West Developments asked that council override the HPAC decision and allow the Intervention Approval to go ahead.

“We really need to maximize the square footage,” said McKay. “By maximizing the square footage on this land, it’s crucial for our success. It increases property values and therefore contributes to higher property taxes for the City. Having more square footage also allows us to market the building to a different demographic that has the disposable income that will spend the money downtown and give back to our community.”

McKay added that they felt downtown needed “something different,” and hoped that Council felt the same way.

When asked by Council what would occur if the group did not receive its Intervention status, another member of the group stated that they could instead build low-income housing, however that wasn’t the ideal plan.

“For me, downtown is in a critical state… it’s in need of repair. We would be well on our way with construction… for me it’s a bigger picture than just the design.”

Council ultimately voted 8-1 to allow for the Intervention, with Belinda Crowson as the single vote against.

“I am worried about the precedent we set when a decision has been made about what we actually consider important, and then how easily we can change our mind on what we consider important…not that I don’t think downtown development is great, but I also worry about the slippery slope about how easy it is to turn our back on our heritage buildings when it’s convenient.”

However, Mayor Chris Spearman also weighed in on what happens if council says ‘no.’

“I do appreciate the historical value of buildings. I think there’s been a deliberate effort to redesign and to try and do something which addresses both interests…I worry about another precedent. If we keep saying no, that we have to preserve the historical buildings at all costs, people will stop coming to us with proposals.”

Council will still have to vote to amend Bylaw 6129 to meet the needs of the owner’s proposal, by deleting the portion of it relating to the parapet as a “character defining element.”