Demolition of the former Edmonton Remand Centre in the city’s downtown will begin sometime this year, according to an announcement from the province Wednesday.
The demolition of the unoccupied building will make space for new building opportunities in the downtown core. The space has not been occupied since 2013 — when the new remand centre opened — and all systems were shut down in 2019 to save on operations costs, the province said.
The building was offered to government ministries to use in 2014, 2016 and 2019 but no interest was expressed. It was, however, “sporadically used as a government training site, as temporary severe weather winter shelter in support of Boyle Street Community Services and as a filming location for a variety of film and television productions.”
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“The remand centre was built specifically as a corrections facility and it would not be cost effective for government or private sector to repurpose for any other use,” reads a news release from the provine.
Demolition of the building, which sits at 97 Street and 104 Avenue, is expected to start in June and be complete in 2025, at which time the land will be sold or repurposed, the province said.
