The city is offering too much for the purchase and demolition of the Arlington Inn, said a commercial realtor, who believes such transactions are better left to the private sector.

At the $1.5 million the city is budgeting for both jobs, Ralph Salomons figures the Arlington site would have to be re-sold to a developer for $83 a square foot, which “sets a new benchmark for property in the downtown.”

Salomons is concerned the city is again stepping into the development arena. It’s already subdividing industrial land west of Hwy 2, planning the commercial-residential Timberlands subdivision, and building the civic yards and a multitude of other infrastructure projects.

The municipality has become Red Deer’s biggest developer, said Salomons, even though the private sector is more experienced and knowledgeable in this field.

City officials want to buy and wreck the old hotel to spur redevelopment of the city centre. They envision selling the site to a developer for the construction of a multi-use, residential, commercial and office complex.

The corner of 49th Street and 51st Avenue is being called the gateway to Riverlands. But neither Salomons nor Scott Cline, a member of the local Heritage Preservation Committee who wants the historic hotel to be saved, see this connection.

Salomons noted the one-way 49th Street actually channels traffic east, in the opposite direction of Riverlands.

The realtor questioned whether a developer of a multi-use complex would be quick to buy the Arlington site. Not only would its square footage (based on the $1.5 million city investment) be expensive, but he said a sizable investment in underground parking or an offsite parkade would likely be required.

Would tax money have to be used by the city to build another parkade, questioned Salomons, who wondered what other reasons exist for the city wanting to wreck the Arlington.

Councillor Gail Parks presented another reason. When contacted on Tuesday, Parks said she favours purchasing the site because “it seems to me there are a lot of social agencies in that part of our downtown, and I hope here we will have an opportunity for a different approach.”

Other councillors also acknowledged merchants are concerned about all the social housing projects downtown. One of these is run out of the Buffalo Hotel, next door to the Arlington.

Salomons believes the city has better ways for controlling land use than buying up properties — that corner could be designated a direct control district, for example, which means the city could dictate what goes on there.

Red Deer Mayor Morris Flewwelling agreed it could. But Flewwelling doesn’t equate the end of the Arlington with the end of social housing on the site.

“We have the potential to build social housing into the new development,” he said, offering low income people better, more permanent accommodations.

The mayor sees an opportunity unfolding. He believes buying an aging building in financial difficulties (the Arlington’s Edmonton-based owners are in tax arrears) and replacing it with a commercial site at street level, with offices and residences above, would be a great boon to the downtown.

“We will have more than what can be accommodated in an old hotel,” said Flewwelling, who does not see the city’s purchase of the Arlington as much different than the city buying the Old Court House and old Provincial Building and later selling it to the private sector.

“We are not in the development business,” stressed the mayor. He noted the city can contract with experts, and would only set the parameters for what kind of development happens on the Arlington site — not do the actual development.

He notes no parking requirements exist for developments in a C-1 zoning.

As to the city paying too high a price for the hotel, Flewwelling referred that question to city Land and Economic Development Department manager Howard Thompson, who was unavailable for comment on Tuesday.

Cline wants to see the Arlington Inn preserved and restored to its former glory.

He believes unique historic architecture, not office complexes, attract people and businesses to hubs, such as Old Strathcona in Edmonton, Kensington in Calgary, and downtown Lacombe.

“I was just in the Old Spaghetti Factory (located in an old building in Calgary) . . . and here we are in a prime position, with a building we can do something with,” said Cline.

He wants the city to “try harder” before tearing the hotel down. “Maybe someone else could utilize it,” with retail space on the ground floor and offices or housing above.

Salomons was surprised to hear part of the Arlington is brick that is stuccoed over. He believes some developer might be interested in restoring the building, if provincial funds were made available.

Flewwelling noted only a 1912 addition to the building is brick. Most of the structure is stucco over timber construction, which, he said, might not be structurally sound.

But the city has not done an assessment to determine this.

Contact Lana Michelin at lmichelin@reddeeradvocate.com