Breathing new life into an old Whyte Ave staple: Army and Navy building being renovated

The Army and Navy department store on Whyte Avenue closed in 2020 and didn't reopen, to the disappointment of area residents. Now, new life is being breathed into the building.

The building is a Whyte Avenue staple, with records of it going back to the 1950s.

"I miss it, actually," Josée Thibeault, an area resident, said. "It was very practical when you live in the neighbourhood to have a place where you have lots of different stuff like that."

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The building has hosted temporary events, such as seasonal markets, but nothing permanent since Army and Navy's closure.

Leaving the facade empty could also have a detrimental effect on other businesses in the area, according to the executive director of the Old Strathcona Business Association.

"It leaves a giant hole, and the way main streets like Whyte Avenue work, and like 124 Street and Stony Plain Road, you have businesses all the way along the avenue, door to door to door," Cherie Klassen said.

"That really helps with walkability and … anytime you have a big vacant spot, people stop walking because they go, 'Oh, there's nothing here.'"

Empty buildings also tend to be targets of vandalism and break-ins, Klassen added.

But it may not be empty for too much longer.

Leder Investments bought the building for $2 million in June and plans to use the large space for a number of smaller businesses.

"We've had conversations about virtual golf, we've talked about somewhere like a rec room, that sort of thing," Kevin Petterson, with Leder, said. "Probably some restaurants… some retail, some fashion."

CTV News Edmonton spoke to people in the area who said they would like to see tenants like a new unique cafe, a nightclub or an activities venue in the space.

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As the building is decades old, Leder is planning to keep as much of the structure's original feel as it can, while bringing it up to code.

"On the exterior, the intention is to maintain the brick, do new cladding … also try and draw some more of the brick at the top, down in between the glazing at certain sections and highlight that piece of the architecture," Petterson said.

"Honouring and keeping parts of the past, but still reinvigorating the building and making it appealing for new tenants to come in, and breathe new life and attract new people."

The inside of the former Army and Navy Department Store on Whyte Avenue on July 12, 2024. (CTV News Edmonton)

The building does contain asbestos, so significant work will be done to take out ceilings and drywall, including around 45,360 kg of plaster.

"The work is not harder … it's different, it's more interesting and more challenging," Nick Michalezki, the owner of Rocky Mountain Inspection Service, said. "We've got to make sure that we're taking this material out and it's taken out in a strategic way and safely, because it's very easy to get electrocuted in one of these places."

"They [previous owners] kicked the can down the road and now the new owner gets to deal with the can."

The trend of taking larger, older buildings, and renovating and parsing them out into smaller units has picked up steam in the last several years, according to Klassen.

"It gives it an opportunity to have more vibrancy when you have more density in a big huge space like that," she added. "That's what businesses want now, they want smaller spaces."

No tenants for the building have been confirmed yet.