Patrick Lindsay watched as his home in the River Run townhome community of Eau Claire, Calgary, was torn down for a transit project.
“It’s just heart-wrenching,” says Lindsay. “I knew everyone in all the units. We will never have that again.”
The homes were being demolished for a Green Line LRT with a station at Eau Claire. But in the fall, Calgary City Council decided to cut back the project after the province pulled its $1.53 billion in funding.
A few weeks later, the province promised the money again, but the new plan now leaves out Eau Claire.
So where does that leave Lindsay and the others whose homes were wrecked?
Will the Green Line move forward?
Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek said that talks are still happening about the Green Line possibly going through Eau Claire in the future.
“We continue to be engaged with the provincial partners and we have had a working group meeting that was quite productive,” she says. “We continue to move forward to figure out how we can get the Green Line moving, and what that alignment will look like.”
How did these homeowners lose their properties?
When the owners got notice that the property was being acquired, they negotiated for four years but finally were given until the end of May 2024 to vacate the property.
Even though Eau Claire’s future isn’t set in stone, the city is still moving forward with tearing down the properties. Work began in late January, and is continuing until summer.
All of this leaves people like Patrick Lindsay and his former neighbours in the dust.
Can the former residents fight back?
The Green Line is Calgary’s next LRT line and the biggest infrastructure project in the city’s history.
According to the City of Calgary website, the demolition of the River Run condominiums took place even though the land may not be required for the station because “the removal of these buildings will decrease the potential for safety and security issues, while fulfilling contractual obligations.”
When the city took ownership of the River Run condos, residents were sent a letter, then an agent visited to figure out the market value.
Owners got buyouts of about $800,000 each, but some argued that they would have been worth more in the open market.
Market value includes things like renovations, location and landscaping.
Twenty of the 23 owners filed appeals with the Alberta government’s Land and Property Rights Tribunal, where disputes can be made around expropriation.
“I don’t think it was necessary,” Lindsay told CityNews. “I just think they wanted to because they are comfortable with putting homes into the landfill to make something shiny and new.”
The Green Line should take about six years to finish.
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
