(Supplied/Realtor)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

for sale

Lacombe’s historic Flatiron building on the market

Sep 8, 2019 | 11:42 AM

A significant piece of Lacombe’s history is up for sale at an asking price of $1.29 million.

Built in 1904, the Flatiron Building has been owned for the last two decades by Glen and Laurie Calkins, who recently sold a number of Tim Horton’s locations they operated in Lacombe, Blackfalds and Red Deer.

In addition to the Flatiron being the site of their head offices, it is also home to an interpretive centre organized by the Lacombe & District Historical Society, as well as a two bedroom suite on the top floor.

Calkins says he is committed to selling the building to someone who will treat it with the historical reverence it deserves.

“I definitely would not be interested in selling it to anyone who’s not interested in protecting the historic nature of the building,” Calkins says. “Nobody’s going to buy it to tear it down because it’s protected, but at the end of the day, that would be a major concern of mine that it gets passed on to somebody who’s willing to look after the building.”

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There’s also sentimental value for Glen, whose late father Alan once sold newspapers as a young boy on the steps of the Flatiron.

The Calkins have put approximately $600,000 into the Flatiron between buying, repairing and upgrading it over the last 20 years, he says.

(Supplied/Realtor)

“It was in really a poor state of repair. Most people thought we kind of lost our marbles buying it. People told me it would fall down, but the building is superbly constructed,” he says. “We renovated the building, inside and out, we had to restore the outside, we pretty much had to gut the inside, and we received money from the Alberta government because of its designation as one of the province’s top historic buildings.”

When the Flatiron originally opened, it served as the Merchants Bank of Canada until 1922 when it became the Bank of Montreal, according to the historical society. It was designated as a Provincial Historic Resource by the Alberta Government in 1990.

Prior to that, in 1906, a fire decimated the entire block, and the only building left standing was the Flatiron. That fire was the catalyst for Lacombe to start its own fire brigade.

The Flatiron is also one of only two flatiron-style buildings in the entire province; the other is located in Edmonton and is known as Gibson Block. Flatiron buildings are so named because of their corner block shape which bears a resemblance to an old fashioned flat iron.

The historical society notes that it follows the same type of architecture as the Fuller Building in New York which was built in 1902. It is an example of early twentieth century Edwardian Classical Revivalist architecture.

Over the years, Lacombe’s Flatiron has hosted exhibits such as Reflections on Vimy, Gull Lake’s early years, and A History of Dairy Farming in Lacombe. It also features a small theatre in the basement which can be booked for meetings and events.

Lori Hellofs, a realtor with Lacombe Remax who has taken on the task of finding a buyer, speaks about the Flatiron’s popularity.

“Many days, you’ll drive by and see weddings being photographed on the front steps, or family photos being done, and during the summer months, you’ll see so many people with cameras taking pictures of the building simply because of its history,” says Hellofs, who grew up in Lacombe.

Interestingly, The City of Lacombe’s Land Use Bylaw states no buildings may be taller than 10 metres within 100 metres of the Flatiron.

The listing can be viewed here.