RoyalAlbertaMuseum

The old Royal Alberta Museum (RAM) has been closed since The new Royal Alberta Museum opened in 2018. The original museum opened in 1967 as the Provincial Museum of Alberta and then was renamed renamed during Queen Elizabeth II’s visit in 2005. The Alberta government has plans to demolish the building but two development companies, Beljan Development and Reimagine , experienced in rejuvenating historic buildings believe the old RAM building should be repurposed rather than demolished. On November 21 Beljan Development and Reimagine held an event to discuss their proposal to repurpose RAM — which they have also shared with the Alberta government.

Due date for tendering documents for demolishment of the OLD Ram building is at the end of February. The two development companies interested in repurposing the old RAM building think bruary. The two development companies interested in repurposing the old RAM building think the official tenders may be considerably more than the government estimates causing them to reconsider the repurposing option.

There has been a growing backlash to the provincial government's announcement to demolish the former Royal Alberta Museum (RAM). The former Royal Alberta Museum opened in 1967 as part of the federal government’s Confederation Memorial Centennial Program and closed its doors in 2015. The building which overlooks the North Saskatchewan river is an example of Midcentury Modern architecture and appears to be in good condition but would require a large investment to renovate and update its interior. As Keith Gerein of the Journal writes, that is where reality and sentimentality of what to do with the former Royal Alberta Museum must be considered.

On Thursday, Arts, Culture and Status of Women Minister Tanya Fir on behalf of the Alberta Government announced that the former Royal Alberta Museum (Ram) would be demoloished. The old building was built in 1965 and closed in 2015.

The estimated cost of demolishing the old building would be $22 million - $48 million and the cost of “deferred maintenance on the structure is estimated to be $75 million.” Officials said Alberta Infrastructure currently “absorbs over $700,000 in operating and maintenance costs annually” for the vacant building. The old museum will be demolished while Government House and the Carriage House will remain standing at the site. The Alberta government has posted a survey on its website that Albertans can fill out to provide their thoughts on what the new green space should look like. People have until Aug. 30 to fill out the survey.

The cost to repurpose the building for another use would have been at least $150 million, including the deferred maintenance cost.