The end is in sight, finally, for the Pigeon Hotel.
City administration has recommended demolition for the Calvert building and the Dynasty building at 11th Avenue and 102nd Street.
The latter building is known locally by residents as the “Pigeon Hotel” due to its pigeon infestation in recent years.
The recommendation comes following the latest, and final, failure by the City to find a purchaser willing to renovate the abandoned buildings. Since the fall of 2012, buyers have twice tried and failed to rehabilitate the buildings, and both times returned the properties to the City.
City administration put the properties up for tender again one last time this spring, with a March deadline for applications.
But in a memo from Director of Business Development Jennifer Niesink to council dated April 8, she confirmed that attempt has also ended in failure. Niesink reported only one application was received and that individual ended up retracting his offer.
She is now recommending the demolition proceed. Niesink’s memo stated the buildings are “in serious disrepair and there has been several failures to restore them. At this time administration recommends that we begin the process to demolish the buildings in question. This will create more options for the use of these lands.”
At council Monday, Mayor Ian Hamilton acknowledged demolition was the option now, given that “we have had three attempts to repurpose those buildings and three individuals have not been able to do that.”
Before that can go ahead, there is still some information needed on the cost.
Councillor Ryan Bater asked what the timeline is for knowing the costs of demolition. City Manager Jim Puffalt said the asbestos management company was inspecting the building this week and expected more information to come back on Friday, which “will tell us what we have to do to demolish the property.”
