paula simons: hipster makeover planned for historic strathcona hotel

If the day when hipsters sip craft beer here comes, will they consider a lot for the workers whose middle class has already replaced? For 127 years —
Except for ten years-
The long dry period of the prohibition period was the Presbyterian Women\'s College --
Edmontonian has always had a beer at this hotel.
The hotel, which opened in 1891, is the parking place for newcomers to drop off directly through the Calgary and Edmonton railways, the first railway connecting the place and the wider world.
Over the years, about 1892 of the hotels, hotels and taverns that supply/Edmonton have hosted generations of tourists, from railroad workers to German immigrants, to college students, to marginal actors, then to the retired veterans, and then to the suburbs.
If you are over 50 years old, you may call it Strath.
Millennials, for reasons that confuse me, call it Strat.
No matter what your name is, a pot of beer costs $15 and a private room without a bathroom costs $54.
$50 per night and the front desk sells the shaver for $1. 50 each.
Don\'t bring your plasticThis is a cash-only business.
This place is a landmark of Edmonton and for decades people from all walks of life have come together to ignore the social and demographic barriers that usually separate us.
But the last call is coming.
Strathona hotel in early 1950.
Ernest Brown Collection/EDMwpThe hotel, the oldest woods-
The frame commercial building on white Avenue is being sold to Ivan Beljan at Beljan Development.
He took control in October.
\"We want to transform it into a display of a building,\" Beljan told me on Friday . \".
\"This is a key part of the city\'s real estate.
It\'s just a chance to really change the whole block.
\"There is no risk of the hotel being demolished.
It protects the heritage status of cities and provinces.
In fact, Beljan has been trying to buy it for years to add it to his old strathona property portfolio. (
For tax reasons, the city\'s valuation of the property is slightly higher than $2 million.
Beljan said he paid twice the amount. )
He currently has 10 sites in the white Avenue area, including the old dawn hotel building Crawford block north of the back lane.
Beljan\'s plan for the site has not yet been finalized.
Because the building has a historical name of a two-level government, he must be approved by a two-level government in order to carry out any renovation that may alter its heritage features.
His proposal was to transform 48 hotel rooms into 34 separate apartments.
Or 34 boutique hotel rooms
He hasn\'t decided yet.
On the main floor, he is planning several small retail and restaurants.
With the blessing of the city and the province, he wanted to illuminate the dark interior by adding a rear solarium, where there are now parking spaces and beer coolers.
Transforming the Back Lane of old strathona into a delightful pedestrian street is part of his ongoing mission.
An artist\'s concept of Strat. k. a.
The stracona hotel may look like Ivan berjan was renovated and he has just purchased the 1891 heritage building on white Avenue.
Edmund renovated such a well. worn wood-
Framework building will be a challenge.
But Beljan says the wood product is solid and has no decay and warping.
\"Being able to build a building with some complicated stories is something we like to do when we wake up.
\"Nevertheless, in order for the project to be paid off, Beljan said he needed the flexibility and understanding of the city and the provinces in adding things like elevators or main building doors.
Only by attracting commercial tenants can the project succeed, he said.
\"These things are expensive.
They are not easy.
At the end of the day, the return must be there.
\"If he gets the necessary approval, Beljan plans to close the hotel this fall and start construction work in January, hoping to open up new space by the end of 2019.
Beljan is a developer with a strong track record in the creative adaptive reuse of heritage buildings.
It is gratifying to see such a beloved heritage building in the hands of people who have the vision and capital to restore and maintain it.
It would be exciting to have a show anchor building in such an important portal corner.
Still, I am still suffering from old hotels and taverns that offer shelter and respite to so many people who are unlucky or have a cash shortage for decades.
If the day when hipsters sip craft beer here comes, will they consider a lot for the workers whose middle class has already replaced?
Developer Ivan Beljan is wearing a Croatian jersey in front of his next restoration project, the stracona hotel.
\"A lot of people tell us that they have a lot of stories and good memories,\" Beljan told me . \".
\"But now that it\'s 2018, we have the next chapter where people will fall in love with the next generation.
\"Psimons @ postmedia. comtwitter.
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