The Irricana historic hotel restoration project faced a stop order in early March from the Town of Irricana, but local officials remain excited about the project, and said it just required some regrouping.
The stop order resulted from some work related to the renovation which required an additional development permit.
Irricana’s CAO Doug Hafichuk said when they first met with the property owner in November of 2022, the initial objective was to clear out the building, stabilize it, and prepare it for future development.
“Some of the more recent activities have certainly extended beyond that scope,” Hafichuk explained. “They've started to include some things that really need to fall under a development permit; so we've issued the stop order just as an opportunity to put a pause on that, to bring the parties back to the table and make sure that we're all properly aligned.”
Hafichuk said the development permit isn't just a piece of paper. It demonstrates that both the developer and municipality are on the same page and working together to build the community.
“It is an exciting, really ambitious, and really complex project, but there's no doubt that the community is really rallied behind the owner and there's certainly a lot of interest in seeing it be successful,” Hafichuk said.
The hotel was purchased by Calgary resident Kerry Tucker in 2022, with the plan to revitalize the historic rest stop and tavern along Highway 9. The dilapidated structure had sat empty for two decades, but was formerly a bustling venue for drinks, dancing, and discourse.
Currently, Tucker and his team have development authority permission to complete works that are necessary to get the site serviced, including gas, water, and power.
Stabilizing the building included replacing beams and walls, bolstering floors, and implementing a temporary roof before they gutted the premises.
Tucker told the Rocky View Weekly stabilization is about 85 per cent completed, and they have removed over $18,000 worth of garbage. He admitted it was a lot more work than he expected.
Looking back and recognizing how much work it took to this point, he’s not sure he would have taken it on.
“But I'm into it now, so I'm gonna ride till the end,” Tucker said, adding he is enjoying the project.
The building is now hooked up to gas, and Tucker and his team are working to hook up to water, electricity and stripping the outside.
“We're getting ready to do the siding and the windows, and (we're) putting the doors back in,” he said.
Once the front looks nice, they will focus back on the inside work, which will require a permit, he noted.
The stop order specifically addressed non-complicance to a traffic bylaw and community standards bylaw, as well as risks to public safety. According to the Town, this largely stemmed from construction activities entering public space, such as scaffolding.
Tucker said a fence has since been put up for safety measures.
One trigger point that’s also being discussed between the Town and Tucker’s team is a power pole that is currently on the edge of his property and leaning in. According to Tucker, the Town would like him to bury the line and cover the cost.
While he doesn’t plan to do this, he hopes this issue will soon be resolved.
Community input meeting
Tucker and his team are hosting a community input meeting on March 23 for the historical building and to discuss how to best save this piece of Alberta history.
Many locals have stopped in to ask questions and Tucker hopes the input meeting clears up some misconceptions. The project is completely funded by Tucker, who owns his own construction company.
All residents of Irricana and the surrounding area are invited to the meeting on March 23 at the K.I.K Senior’s Centre from 2 p.m. until 4 p.m.
Tucker’s vision is to build a coffee shop in the back with a bar or public house in the front as phase one. Phase two would include the second floor with studio spaces and a space to showcase the history of the hotel and finally, phase three would see the development of a third floor with residential spaces.
He hopes to complete phase one by Labour Day long weekend this September.
Built in 1910, the building along Irricana’s main downtown strip was previously the, “hub of Irricana life,” according to the Town of Irricana’s website.
Tucker previously told the Rocky View Weekly he was captivated by the history of the building – which served as one of the only historic stopping houses located between Calgary and Drumheller – and purchased the crumbling property from the previous local owner for just under $90,000.
According to the Town of Irricana website, the once three-storey building was renovated following a major fire that swept through the town’s business district in 1928.
The Irricana Hotel initially offered its patrons rooms, a tavern, restaurant and Irricana’s first telephone exchange. A collection of old murals painted on the tavern walls around 1925 by Guy Welsh are its most recent “claim to fame.”
