COLD LAKE – After roughly three years of sitting empty, the former Cold Lake Lodge located behind the building constructed to replace it is slated to be brought down this spring with the land to be fully reclaimed by the end of September.
“When we first occupied the new lodge, we were trying to work with the province to see if we could find another tenant that we could slide in there,” Chris Vining told Lakeland This Week. Vining is the chair of Lakeland Lodge and Housing Foundation and is also a City of Cold Lake councillor.
"A lot of different options were kicked around, a lot of different groups looked at the building to see if it could fit their needs but at the end of the day, with the age of the building and the refurbishing that would have to happen in order to repurpose that building, just made it unfeasible,” stated Vining.
A decision was made a little over a year ago by the foundation that it would be best to demolish the building.
“We are still having to check in on it and fix things if they break. We have to monitor it and secure it, which is extra work for the foundation. So, we made the decision to go ahead and petition the province to get [the lodge] taken down.”
A contractor has been selected for the demolition project following a bidding process. The tear-down process is expected to start in May, but it could take weeks or months before any external walls are taken down as crews will have to complete asbestos remediation.
However, the project including the final landscaping, should be completed by the end of September, according to Vining.
Once the building is removed, the foundation will be able to reclaim the land and could possibly use it for future expansion or other things.
