Renovation of the Army and Navy Building on Whyte Ave

The Army and Navy department store on Whyte Avenue closed in 2020 and never reopened, much to the disappointment of local residents. Now, the building is being given a new lease of life.

The building is an integral part of Whyte Avenue; there are documents about the building dating back to the 1950s.

“I actually miss it,” said Josée Thibeault, a local resident. “It was very convenient when you live in the neighborhood to have a place where you have a lot of different things.”

The building has hosted temporary events, such as seasonal markets, but since the closure of the army and navy, nothing permanent has happened there.

According to the director of the Old Strathcona Business Association, leaving the front facade empty could also have a negative impact on other businesses in the area.

“It leaves a big hole. And when you look at the way that major streets like Whyte Avenue and 124th Street and Stony Plain Road work, you have businesses all along the avenue, door to door,” Cherie Klassen said.

“That really helps with walkability and… when there’s a big empty space, people stop walking because they think, ‘Oh, there’s nothing here.’”

Empty buildings are also often the target of vandalism and burglaries, Klassen said.

But it may not remain empty for much longer.

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

“We’ve had conversations about virtual golf, we’ve talked about a place like a recreation space, things like that,” Leder’s Kevin Petterson said. “Probably some restaurants… some retail, some fashion.”

CTV News Edmonton spoke with locals who said they would like to see tenants in the form of a new, unique cafe, nightclub or activity venue in the space.

Because the building is decades old, Leder wants to retain as much of the building’s original appearance as possible while adapting it to building regulations.

“Externally, the idea is to retain the brick, put in new cladding and try to draw more of the brick on top, and in places through the glazing, and highlight that bit of architecture,” Petterson said.

“We honor and preserve parts of the past, but we also give the building a new lease of life and make it attractive for new tenants to come and breathe new life into it and attract new people.”

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

There is asbestos in the building, so a significant amount of work will be required to remove the ceilings and plasterboard, including approximately 45,360kg of plaster.

“The work is not harder … it’s different, it’s more interesting and challenging,” said Nick Michalezki, owner of Rocky Mountain Inspection Service. “We have to make sure that we remove this material in a strategic manner and safely because it’s very easy to get electrocuted in one of these places.”

“They (the previous owners) have postponed the problems and now the new owner has to deal with them.”

According to Klassen, the trend of renovating larger, older buildings and breaking them up into smaller units has become increasingly popular in recent years.

“It gives you the opportunity to be more vibrant when you have more density in a big, huge space like this,” she added. “That’s what companies want now, they want smaller spaces.”

No tenants have yet been found for the building.