So the city finally announced that it's closing the Cecil Hotel. Which is surprising both in that it's taken them so long to do so, and that they ever summoned the will to proceed.
If you're from Calgary you've probably noticed the Cecil, rolled up your windows and locked your doors as you drove by it, it's been a blight on the city for several years. But the increasing violence in the area, drugs, homelessness and crime, and the new East Village project all have finally escalated to the point where the city said enough is enough.
"What is enough?", you ask? Well, for starters the article states that police made an average of 5 visits per day there in 2007 and 2008. These were visits paid for by the residents of Calgary through their taxes. No other business in Calgary gets free policing, bars and nightclubs are expected to keep their premises violence and drug free, bouncers and security are provided by the establishment.
Not so the Cecil.
One wonders what took them so long. And why there was no attempt by the City to recoup some of the costs associated with "keeping the problem under control".
But the next twist is even more interesting. The City announced that it has purchased the Cecil hotel. While one article states that the property has an assessed value of 8.8 million dollars, the City in it's largess with the taxpayers funds agrees upon 10.9 million dollars. This on the brink of a major recession, possibilities for the property include a parkade.
It's good we are so well looked after.
Moral of the story? I'll let you draw your own conclusions....