Royal Canadian Legion members have known for some time they have to do something with their aging hall on King Street. The question they haven’t answered is what that might be.
Al Howse, long-time member and president of Branch 124, says a committee has been formed to look at options on how to move forward, and is in the very early stages of gathering information to help lead them to a decision.
One option is to go the route of the Port Dalhousie legion branch, which sold their property and deteriorating building to a developer, who razed the hall and put up condominium apartments, giving the legion some space on the ground floor.
Although Howse was not surprised to hear what he says are “rumours” of developer Benny Marotta approaching the legion about doing something similar, he said that hasn’t happened.
Committee members have “asked for advice from two local developers” about what that could look like for the legion and what would be involved, “but not Benny Marotta, and no developers have approached us.”
They have also begun the process of having the building and property assessed in case that’s the route they choose, as well as having their property lines defined — some of what they have been using for parking is on town-owned land, he said.
Any rumours he’s heard, Howse said, involve the developer being interested in the ball diamond property that could provide space for parking for the Parliament Oak hotel and conference centre, but the property is owned by the town, not the legion.
Although, he added, the legion does have a “vested interest” in what happens to that property — the legion “put money into the development of what was called the legion ball park and maintained it,” up until the early 1970s.
The sale to a developer and a new space for the Port Dalhousie branch was considered a success for them, which saw its membership grow once they moved into the new building, said Howse. But the local legion members have other options to consider, with the direction they will go far from decided, and any decision they make would have to take into account what the town zoning bylaw would allow on that site.
They are also looking at retaining their property, tearing down the hall and looking at grants “or whatever we can get” to rebuild it themselves, said Howse.
Two other options involve an extensive renovation of the building, or “going with what we have, doing whatever work needs to be done as we go along.”
Branch 124 was established in 1928, and after moving around to several different locations, members decided to build the current hall, moving into it in 1966, he said.
Even then, accessibility was an issue for veterans coming home disabled, and discussions of installing an elevator in the two-storey building have been ongoing, but there was never the money to do it, said Howse .
Although they still need to look at what renovations are required if they choose that route, an update of the electrical system is likely necessary, as well as replacement of the old air conditioners. And some expansion out the back might be on the list, along with more storage space.
“There is so much to do to determine how to approach any changes to that building. We are at the very early stages of looking at what to do, and any decisions are a long way down the road, said Howse.
They don’t have a dollar figure of what it would cost if they decide to rebuild themselves, or what it would take to renovate. “We don’t have numbers, and until we do, we won’t have a path forward.”