Around Iqaluit
May 5, 2006
Iqaluit this week
High school art show
Wednesday, May 17, 6 to 8 p.m., Inuksuk High School. The
senior high students of Inuksuk will showcase their artwork,
jewelry and woodworking, free to the public. The
home-economics class will provide refreshments and some
items will be available for purchase. The art, shop, jewelrymaking
and Inuktitut classes will all participate. For more
information, call Linda Grant at 979-5281.
May 5, 2006
Plywood patches up AWG arena
Iqaluit’s Arctic Winter Games Arena has a new floor. You may not be able to skate on it, but it’s good enough for bingo.
Plywood planks now cover up the gaping hole in the rink surface, which was dug up to get a better look at the building’s waterlogged foundation.
The temporary fix costs $31,600. The city has applied to use $9,000 from the $100,000 in Community Initiatives Programs funding they are eligible to receive each year.
“We can have bingo and rent the space out. It’s a small price to pay,” said Kim Rizzi, the city’s economic development officer.
The Baffin Regional Chamber of Commerce picked up the rest of the cost, mostly through in-kind labour provided by its members, according to Rizzi.
A permanent fix is expected to cost $750,000, according to consultants hired by the city.
That would involve building a new foundation supported by metal posts. The building rests on a soupy mess of mud and rock, which has caused it to sink unevenly for years.
May 5, 2006
More chip-seal paving to come
This summer the City of Iqaluit plans to continue paving city streets using a technique called chip-sealing.
Nearly three kilometres of road will be newly paved this summer, according to the city’s plans. That includes picking up where work ended last year on Apex Road and paving 750 metres further, to Apex Bridge.
The city also plans to pave Bypass Road, better known as “Washboard Hill,” producing a stretch more than two kilometres long between Apex Road and the Ring Road.
Work this year is expected to cost $1 million. The bulk of that — $782,700 — is paid by the Government of Nunavut, while the City of Iqaluit will pay the rest.
Chip-sealing involves laying down a thin layer of asphalt and water followed by a layer of gravel, which is then rolled flat. It costs about half as much as conventional paving.
Council approved plans to tender the contract for this work at an April 11 meeting.
May 5, 2006
City sells IODE Hall and Butler Building
The City of Iqaluit has sold off two historical buildings to be demolished: the IODE Hall in Apex, and the last remaining Butler building, found behind the Capital Suites near Iqaluit’s downtown.
Qudliq Investments purchased the IODE Hall and the property it stands on for $5,000. The company plans to demolish the building and build two 1,600 square foot houses on the lot during the summer of 2007.
The Imperial Order of the Daughters of Empire built the hall during the late 1950s or early 1960s. It served as a community hall for many years, until the Abe Okpik Hall replaced it during the late 1990s. Since then the building has sat unused.
Qudliq Investments also purchased the Butler Building and the property it sits on, for $81,500. The company plans to build in its place a two-story building, zoned for commercial space on the bottom floor and holding two bedroom apartments or condominiums on the top. Construction for that project is also scheduled for the summer of 2007.
The Butler Building is among the last of many prefab buildings like it brought to Iqaluit by the United States Air Force during the 1950s. Originally used as military barracks, the building was later used as staff housing for the Government of the Northwest Territories. The Butler Building is currently used by the city as archive space.
The city received two proposals to turn the Butler Building into a historic site, but city staff dismissed these plans because their proponents offered no money for the building and property.
The city’s insurance premiums have risen in recent years because these old buildings were considered high-risk liabilities.
No bids were received to purchase the air base garage near the Four Corners.
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