Crews have started to dismantle the Molson House in downtown Edmonton so it can be moved to its new home. The 50-year-old structure will be taken apart in sections.
The demolition crews told CTV News each section needs to be tagged and labelled so that Molson House can be rebuilt at its new location.
"We have to draw a fairly detailed map and what not so the contractor can put it back together," said JD Meyn with B & B Demolition.
The fort is a landmark in the Oliver neighbourhood. The Molson House was built in 1961. The 2,500 square foot hospitality lounge is surrounded by a log enclosure in the form of an old fort.
"For a structure, there are virtually no nails in it. It's built well. They did it right," said Meyn.
Back in 1988, the Oilers used the site to announce Wayne Gretzky was being traded to the L.A. Kings.
Vancouver based Anthem Properties promised the oldest part of the compound, which is the nearly century old brewery, will remain. It plans to turn the site into a mixed-use residential commercial development. But it maintains to preserve the brewery as part of the development. The company offered up Molson House to anyone who could afford to pay for its removal.
"And the cost is substantial. You're talking about tens of thousands of dollars to do that and that's probably the reason why there weren't a lot of organizations that could afford to do it," said Sylvia Yung with Anthem Properties.
It's still unclear where the final home of Molson House will be. The new owner has so far chosen to remain anonymous. Sources told CTV Molson House will be moved to a golf course west of Edmonton.
With files from Laura Tupper
