The City of Calgary has flip-flopped on a controversial decision that was part of redevelopment plans for Olympic Plaza.
The city announced Monday it will be offering people who purchased one or more of the 33,000 commemorative bricks used in the construction of the public plaza ahead of the 1988 Olympics an opportunity to get their bricks back.
“We understand that there’s still interest from Calgarians, who purchased an Olympic brick in 1988, to retrieve the bricks,” said Kate Thompson, the CEO of the Calgary Municipal Land Corp., which is in charge of the Olympic Plaza redevelopment plans for the City of Calgary.
“While it is not feasible to remove all 33,000 bricks due to their age and condition, we and our partners will attempt to extract bricks for Calgarians who remain interested.”
For months, the city, CMLC and Arts Commons — who are partners in the redevelopment plans — have resisted demands to try to recover the bricks despite mounting pressure from those who purchased the bricks and their families.
But Monday’s offer from the city also comes with a caveat that it may not be possible to remove all the bricks still intact.
“It is, you know, a challenging process to remove these bricks,” Thompson said. “When you look down, you can see the mortar between them, and that bond is strong between the brick and mortar — so the bricks aren’t easily removed.
“They require either force or a cutting tool, so that is one factor in the complexity of removing them. To add to the complexity is the way that they’re laid. A double-basket weave means that it’s quite complicated to cut them out individually. … It is still not feasible to remove all 33,000 bricks.”
The City of Calgary said demolition work will begin in January 2025. The bricks will be removed just before that.
Thom Mahler, the director of downtown strategy for the City of Calgary, said people who are interested in recovering their bricks will be asked to register online at Calgary.ca/OlympicPlaza.
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Registration opens Tuesday, Dec. 10 and closes on Dec. 18 and those submitting their names must meet certain criteria:
• You will need three pieces of identification;
• You must be the original purchaser or demonstrate your legal interest in the property of that individual;
• You will have to sign a waiver acknowledging that there is a risk that the brick might get damaged in the removal; and,
• You must know the inscription details of your brick.
People who don’t know the inscription details of their brick can find out more by logging onto the the city’s Olympic brick-finder website.
Mahler said those who register will be contacted later by a city representative who will let them know if their brick was successfully removed.
“It’s important to mention that these bricks have been in place for almost 40 years, and their condition varies greatly,” Mahler said.
“There is a significant risk of damaging the bricks when we remove them. While we’ll make every effort to retrieve your brick, we cannot guarantee it will be removed intact.”
Bricks that are recovered intact will be available for pickup on Jan. 3rd and Jan. 4, 2025, Mahler added.
Thompson said the cost of removing the bricks has yet to be determined.
The initial decision not to try to retrieve the bricks prompted some people to try to do the job themselves, leaving a number of damaged or missing bricks scattered around Olympic Plaza.
Asked if she was surprised by the public outcry from people who want their bricks back, Thompson said “it is important to honour that legacy of the ’88 Olympics because it was a special time in our city.”
“I actually I love to see the passion of Calgarians. I mean, if we’re passionate about our city so much on all other levels, I think we’d have even a stronger city.”
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