The Calgary Outlink Centre for Gender and Sexual Diversity has called the ‘Old Y’ home for nearly 50 years. During the time, staff have seen the immense impact the community hub has had on everyone who walks through the doors.
“People just show up here,” says Outlink’s director of operations, Emma Ladouceur. “They don’t always know us by name, they don’t always know the particular services, but they know this is a place where they will find help and will be met with safety and understanding.”
Outlink is one of more than 65 community agencies looking for a new home after CommunityWise ended its lease at the historic YWCA on 12 Avenue southwest with the city. It was subletting to the other organizations who now have to be out by the end of September.
“It’s a real concern and one that sits really heavy in all of our hearts,” says Ladouceur. “Knowing that we’re leaving and there are people who are going to be lost.”
The group of agencies, calling themselves the Save the Old Y Coalition, is now calling on the city to sign a holdover lease with one of the tenants, The Arusha Centre, until a long-term plan for the historical site is confirmed.
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“We have a lot of great ideas of how to activate the building over the next couple of months and next couple of years,” says Tara Laverdure with the Arusha Centre and who leads the coalition.
According to the City of Calgary, an expression of interest (EOI) was released on Sept. 16, after CommunityWise ended its lease with three months’ notice. The city says it suggested the sub-tenants contact CommunityWise to take over the lease, but they declined.
In a statement emailed to Global News, the City of Calgary says its goal is to “preserve this important heritage building and identify a new tenant who can continue to make it a place where community can thrive.”
The Save the Old Y Coalition says it will be submitting a proposal to the EOI but adds there are concerns about the heritage building sitting empty as the administrative process plays out, saying it risks becoming a hub for social disorder.
“We’ve seen the Enoch House burn down less than five years ago because it was neglected because the city didn’t have tenants in there looking out for it every day,” says Peter Oliver with the Beltline Neighbourhoods Association.
“It would be a huge detriment to the community to have this space turned into a neglected eyesore and potential magnet for crime.”
The tenants say being in the building is also important for growing the not-for-profit sector. Calgary Cinemateque says it allows them to connect with other organizations in the independent film space, while also sticking to a budget.
“Individually, our organizations might not be able to afford a competitive rent,” says programming coordinator Ben Rowe. “But with us all working together in one space, we can keep the cost down for everybody.”
Oliver, with the Beltline Neighbourhoods Associaion, says he hopes whoever becomes the permanent tenant will continue to have a focus on the community and remain a gathering place in the heart of the city.
“The rich history of the groups and the social movements that have come out of here, it would be a complete shame to see this turned into law offices or a Starbucks or something.”
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