The Arusha Centre hopes the City of Calgary shares its vision for redevelopment of the Beltline ‘Old Y’ site, though full realization of it could cost in the tens of millions.

Monday marked the deadline for expressions of interest (EOI) for the Old Y and former site of the Beltline Recreation and Aquatic Centre, where the Arusha Centre had its home for 40 years.

Gerald Wheatley with Arusha said that given the building’s history, opened 115 years ago as a YWCA, and designated as a historic resource, it should remain as a place of social connection and community development.

“This building is far more important than the beauty of this historic resource,” he said.

“This is a symbol of social justice in this province. It’s the first purpose-built social justice building in this province, and the Arusha Center is dedicated to preserving and keeping that vibrant.”

During last November’s budget adjustment, dozens of speakers from a variety of non-profit social organizations spoke about the importance of keeping the location alive. Last September, the groups were asked to vacate the premises because the building wasn’t fit for ongoing habitation.

There was $1 million set aside for a site assessment and to secure the Old Y and Beltline aquatic site until a path forward could be determined.

The Arusha Centre wants the location to be what they dubbed a ‘Prosperity Hub,’ that included space for the non-profit organizations, community programming, and eventually affordable housing. They want to operate the outreach services out of a refurbished Old Y building, and the plan would be to potentially demolish and create affordable housing adjacent, where the Beltline rec facility is today.

Tara Laverdure said they’ve been working hard on their plan to steward and restore the Old Y, having officially submitted their proposal to the City of Calgary.

“This neighbourhood, like others, deserves spaces like the Old Y to support and build community connections through accessible, affordable and meaningful gathering places for art residents and all Calgarians,” Laverdure said.

“The Beltline has experienced a lot of residential growth and changing needs, which require ground-up, community-based responses. The well-being of our communities can be better served if we have physical spaces to do so.”

Calgary Buffalo MLA Joe Ceci attended the media event to speak in support of the Arusha Centre’s plan. He said that it’s going to take several parties coming together to make it work.

“It’s clear that neither the public nor private entities alone can deliver this full vision,” he said.

“It’s going to take a partnership and a community-led approach. So, let’s move from vacancy to vitality.”

Support from the area councillor

The City of Calgary said that they don’t typically divulge the number of submissions it receives for expressions of interest. They told LWC via email that they hope to make a decision on the location by the end of March.

Ward 8 Coun. Nathan Schmidt said that you can’t forget that even though the City of Calgary is trying to build up the Beltline and the downtown with big picture projects, the area is still a community at heart.

“The Old Y, for years, was an anchor for the community to have a space where they could come and gather and access the services that they need from the groups that were in the Old Y,” he told LWC.

“So, any future of this site would be hugely beneficial if it included that type of community amenity, a gathering space, somewhere that everybody can access that will make the Beltline a better place for people who are visiting, for people who live there, and for people who might be thinking about moving in.”

According to Wheatley, the building needs roughly $3.8 million in upgrades to meet the minimum code requirements for re-entry. (The City of Calgary did not independently verify these numbers.)  He said they’re hoping to reoccupy the space by January 2027.

Schmidt said that might be possible.

“There may be other ways that we can work in programming, whether that be through activation of the outside space around the site, or by finding a way to perhaps temporarily occupied the Beltline pool site, which does have recently renovated facilities,” he said.

Currently, the site sits as “warm storage” as Wheatley put it. The heat’s on and the City of Calgary monitors security.

“That’s not, in my estimation, in the best interest of the Beltline or the community groups that do frontline services here,” he said.

More information on the Arusha Centre plan can be found here.