Parking spots are on the way
Property owner plans to demolish Little Brown House next month to make room for parking lot
Candace Thomson
Northern News Services
Published Friday, April 25 2014
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Though its fate to be demolished was sealed in November, the Little Brown House on Franklin Avenue made it through the winter - but it won't be standing much longer.
The Little Brown House will be torn down next month, according to Yellowknife Community Services. The owner of the property originally slated January as the start of construction for the parking lot that will replace the house. - NNSL file photo |
Yellowknife Community Services (YCS), the organization which bought the building in 2006 for $275,000 with plans to demolish it and make a parking lot for its Northern United Place (NUP) tenants, plans to have the building destroyed starting mid-May.
"It took us till almost the end of January to get all the permits from the city," said Gail Leonardis with YCS.
The house, which is considered a non-designated heritage building by many Yellowknifers and is part of the Yellowknife Heritage Tour, was built in 1948 as staff housing for the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals.
Despite a 42-stall underground parking garage, lack of parking has long been an issue at NUP for tenants and students of Aurora College. The space behind the Little Brown House currently provides parking for about 12 vehicles. Once the house is demolished, there will be 26 parking spaces on the lot.
"It's going to open up between 22 and 24 parking stalls depending on whether we put in a specified handicap spot," Leonardis said.
"Because there will be electricity and all that kind of stuff that'll be offered, first to our tenants with the college or our own tenants, and then people who work in the building, as well, will get an opportunity to rent a stall."
Leonardis said cost of renting a stall hasn't been determined yet.
Parking became even more scarce once the construction of Betty House began, though the city did provide a parking lottery for 20 spots near Somba K'e Civic Plaza to make up for the loss.
Geraldine Hunter, student representative at Aurora College, said the parking issue needs to be solved and offering a lottery isn't an answer. Hunter wrote an open letter to city councillors and the mayor in October trying to bring attention to the parking woes of NUP.
"I thank you for that but as they are being given out in a lottery, this does little to help other students (nor NUP residents) should we not 'win' a spot," she wrote
She asked the city to remove the no-parking signs along 54 Street opposite of the college, which would free up five parking spaces.
YCS also attempted to reach this solution with the city but was told the signs had to remain due to safety issues.
Aside from the new parking lot replacing the Little Brown House, YCS is also in negotiations with the YWCA's NWT chapter, which will be taking control over Betty House once construction is complete. The two organizations are trying to work out a way to provide several powered parking stalls for NUP tenants and staff.
"We haven't got anything finalized yet, but it's looking good," Leonardis said.
"I don't think any of us kind of understood the impact construction would have. We certainly knew once we lost the lots across the street that we were going to be looking for parking. But, if you talk to anyone down 54 Street or down 50 Avenue they'll tell you how much things have changed since those lots closed."
If the negotiations with Betty House fall through, there's not much else that can be done to fix the parking situation, Leonardis said.
"Because we're offering apartments at well below market rents, we don't have a lot of spare cash to throw around and buy new properties and expand the parking," she said.
"We're a little hamstringed in that."
