The owners of Calgary’s Symons Valley Ranch, destroyed by a fire Thursday morning, told Global News they are considering rebuilding but there are no definite plans.
The ranch is owned by Durum Properties Inc., a private Calgary-based real estate company that was founded in 2012.
The company said they hope to continue working with the dozens of farmer’s market vendors affected by the blaze and have no plans to sell the property at this time.
Farmer’s market co-owner Ken Aylesworth told Global News the hope is to rebuild on the existing property, but in the interim, he’s working with the City of Calgary and Mayor Naheed Nenshi on a plan.
“I have a location and we’re finalizing details this afternoon for something in our community near Symons Valley Ranch, which is quite wonderful,” farmer’s market co-owner Ken Aylesworth told Global News Friday night.
“The city pledged to help these vendors and the market as a whole to get rejuvenated … The success of Symons Valley Ranch or any other market is the combination of all vendors as a whole.”
Symons Valley Ranch said on its online platforms staff were “so thankful for all the love and support” they’d received.
READ MORE: Burned-out vendors at Symons Valley market hope for a rebuild
“The best way to help is to please visit our vendors at their other locations to continue to support them,” reads the post.
“Yes we will rebuild. We will grow. We will be even better!” reads a post signed Ken and Tracy Aylesworth on the ranch homepage.
The Facebook post included locations of the vendors along with their Facebook pages and websites.
Everlasting Impressions wedding planner Lisa Laplante is offering free advice and help finding alternative locations to any brides who had planned their wedding at the ranch in the near future.
“It was devastation,” Laplante told Global’s Jill Croteau. “Their dreams can’t come true in a space they fell in love with…To find a venue is the biggest choice you make and everything falls around the venue, so knowing there are so many in that situation where they are lost right now, we want to help.”
A fundraising page set up by Joel Macaspac, who identified himself as a “fellow Calgarian looking to help,” was shut down Friday at the request of the Aylesworth.
“After talking with SVR Farmers Market, they have deemed that this campaign will not be needed as they are working closely with their insurance company,” he wrote on GoFundMe.
Calgary Fire Department spokesperson Carol Henke told Global News she’d received about a dozen emails containing photos and videos of the fire from after crews arrived on scene. She is hoping to receive materials from before crews arrived in order to help with the investigation into the cause.
The fire department is asking anyone with video, pictures or information to email piofire@calgary.ca
“We’re not saying it’s suspicious or accidental at this point because it’s still in the very early stages in the investigation,” Henke said. “Arson detectives are brought in any time there’s a serious injury, fatality or a large dollar loss. In this case, obviously it’s the large dollar loss. A lot of people are affected, that’s why we work with our partners in the Calgary Police Service.”
Watch below: Officials haven’t been able to pinpoint a cause of the fire that destroyed Symons Valley Ranch, but crews are still keeping their eye on the scene. Bindu Suri reports.
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