Less than three years after first purchasing it, the Town of Crossfield has listed the old CIBC building on Railway Street for sale.
According to a post on the Town's website, the municipality's asking price for the vacant building on the corner of Railway Street and Hammond Avenue is $459,900.
“Located within the Town of Crossfield's downtown on Railway Street, this building is a great opportunity to own your own office space or expand your existing business,” the post stated on Crossfieldalberta.com.
The move to sell the vacant building comes after the Town of Crossfield bought it at the end of 2019 in a purchase agreement with CIBC, who was the previous owner.
The old brick building housed Crossfield's CIBC branch until the bank closed its doors in August 2019 due to an increased prevalence of customers banking online through computers or cell phones.
The two-storey building then sat empty for months, until the Town purchased it, with the goal of renovating and converting it into Crossfield’s new town hall. Currently, the Town's staff work out of the Crossfield United Church at 1005 Ross Street, where Town council meetings are also held.
But Sue Keenan, the municipality's chief administrative officer, said the cost to renovate the old bank into a viable new headquarters for the Town would be upward of $4 million.
“We’ve done a fairly in-depth audit of our finances as well as our assets,” Keenan said.
“In reviewing the information that was put forward with respect to renovations and need of a town office moving forward, my recommendation to council…was that while the location is ideal, the cost to renovate that building and up-size it would be cost-prohibitive for us.”
She added the market value of the building was determined to be $566,670 at the time the Town purchased it. The Town paid the CIBC $200,000 and provided a $366,670 tax receipt as the remaining amount owing was a gift from the bank.
Keenan said at the time the building was originally purchased, it was based on assessed value, which is what the Town paid for it.
“But given when we own a building, we have to get a different assessment done – a values-based assessment – so we [brought] an assessment company in and they assessed it at a certain amount,” she said. “That’s why it has dropped a little bit.”
Constructed in 1924 but rebuilt in 1960 following a fire, the concrete block and wood frame building is one of Crossfield's oldest buildings, with a brick veneer exterior, wood-framed, double-pane windows, and a flat asphalt roof.
“I do call it a heritage building but use that term loosely, because it’s not a heritage building as defined by the provincial or federal governments,” Keenan said. “It is a beautiful building, there’s no question.”
Keenan said the Town isn’t in a position right now to invest in any capital projects for office administration. With Crossfield's four per cent population growth in the last four years, she said the Town's focus has to instead be on other infrastructure priorities, such as the town's water and wastewater systems.
“Especially with all the development occurring, we need to make sure we have capacity,” she said. “We’re undertaking a few capital projects this year to ensure that happens.”
She added the Town also needs to take a look at upgrading its recreational facilities to serve the growing population.
Throughout the Town's spell of owning the building, council has considered rental options for the facility. Last year, council heard a proposal to rent the building out to a film production company, which was shooting footage in the region for the upcoming Under the Banner of Heaven television series.
Keenan said that agreement never did come to fruition, although she added another film production crew is currently set up in Crossfield, at a separate downtown location.
Town staff will continue to work out of the Crossfield United Church on Ross Street and council meetings will be held there until a suitable space for a new town hall can be determined, according to Keenan. She said the Town's current lease with the church was recently renewed for an additional two years.
“We have looked at a couple of location options,” she said of the Town's search for a new headquarters. “To have administration somewhere close to the downtown core is vital, but to leave that building currently sitting empty for the next year or two isn’t viable, in my opinion.”
Some businesses have already expressed interest in the building, according to Keenan.
“We’ve had two showings,” she said. “The whole idea for us is to get that downtown Railway Street corridor vibrant and full. We’ll do whatever it takes to make that happen.”
