Arlington Inn input deadline Monday
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Stakeholder input is nearing completion on whether the Arlington Inn is historically valuable enough to save it from demolition.
Tara Lodewyk, a planner with Parkland Community Planning Services, sent letters in late February to the Red Deer Museum Society, Sunnybrook Farm Museum Society and the Red Deer Cultural Heritage Society to get their feedback on the City of Red Deer’s planned demolition.
Those groups have until Monday to provide comments. She also sent them her historical evaluation, which was finished last September.
It suggested the Arlington Inn at 4905 51st Ave. is of “low integrity.”
Lodewyk said she evaluated Red Deer’s oldest hotel based on the Alberta government’s Seven Aspects of Integrity — location, environment, design, materials, workmanship, aesthetics or historical sense of the period, and association between a historic resource and a significant historical theme, person, etc.
“A lot of the original elements like the wood siding and the nice wrap-around balcony are no longer there,” Lodewyk said on Friday. “It still has two storeys, still has the same roofline . . . the interior of the building looks nothing like the original building.”
Lodewyk expects to update her historical evaluation soon and then write a recommendation report to the City of Red Deer’s Inspections and Licensing Department. The report must be done within 45 days of which the City of Red Deer, the building owners, filed an intent to demolish.
City land co-ordinator Rick Elm said the 45-day period officially ends on April 14. April 15 is the earliest the building could be demolished.
Red Deer resident Tim Lasiuta hopes to sway city council later this month when he submits a petition in favour of saving the hotel, instead of having it torn down for development.
Lasiuta said he’s gathered between 250 and 300 names.
The petition can be found at bowling alleys and at the A&W at Village Mall. People can also sign it via email at savethearlington@hotmail.com and through Save the Arlington Hotel on social networking site Facebook.
ltester@reddeeradvocate.com
