No plans to redevelop old Cecil Hotel

CALGARY – A notorious Calgary hotel is back in the spotlight three years after closing its doors for good.

The Cecil Hotel was considered a hotspot for drugs and prostitution until the city shut it down and bought the property.

The building has since sat empty and nearby residents are wondering what’s to become of the space.

“It’s ugly, it needs to be taken down,” says Jordan Snowdy. “IF they keep leaving it in a state of disrepair it’s just going to get worse and worse.”

The East Village Neighbourhood Associate agrees; Ned Shillington was one of the hotel’s chief critics and was pleased when the city took action. He admits is patience is wearing thin with a lack of action ever since.

“At least they should do something about its appearance. It truly is an eyesore,” says Shillington. “I think the assumption was, before this, the city would have in some way dealt with it.”

The city paid more than $10 million to purchase the hotel. Currently, it’s using the property as a staging area for LRT construction but has no plans to redevelop in the near future.

“We’ve got a lot of buildable land, buildable space, it’s important we’re not hasty,” says Ward 7 Councillor Druh Farrell. “We have the luxury of time through we don’t want to waste time.”

Time is exactly what Don Hammel says is being wasted and he’s had enough.

“That’s pretty typical isn’t it for the city? No plan. Right now it has no value, it’s a dump.”

The city says it will be in discussions over the next several years on how to redevelop the property.