BANFF – Bowstrings Banff – a new non-profit group with a vision to save and preserve treasured heritage buildings in the community – has been granted a municipal tax exemption for two residential properties.
The properties include the 1908 Rutherford Cottage, built for Alberta’s first premier Alexander Rutherford as a summer get-away, and the 1920 Mountain School, which is linked to prominent arts and drama promoter Margaret Greenham. The school housed and educated young Banff students as well as young English students during the Second World War, including children of British actress Vivien Leigh, best remembered for her Oscar-winning roles in Gone With the Wind and A Streetcar Named Desire.
Chris Hughes, the director of corporate services for the Town of Banff, said the properties were assessed at just over $3.3 million in 2021.
“If this property was exempt, the approximate municipal tax revenue of $7,950 would have to be reallocated to the rest of the residential tax base,” he said.
“There are a number of other properties that are currently exempt… but this one is a new one and that’s why it’s being brought forward for council’s consideration.”
The new Bowstrings Heritage Foundation, which was started as a registered charity in 2019, acquired the 1908 Rutherford Cottage and 1920 Mountain School property in November 2020.
Council approved the application from Bowstrings to exempt the two heritage properties from all property taxes under the Community Organization Property Tax Exemption Regulation (COPTER) and the Municipal Government Act (MGA).
The Bowstrings’ properties fall under a section of the MGA that allows tax exemption for a property that is used for a charitable or benevolent purpose for the benefit of the general public, and owned by a non-profit organization.
“Administration is of the belief that this property meets the requirements of the MGA and COPTER for the purposes of tax exemption,” said Hughes.
The goals of Bowstrings Heritage Foundation – of which heritage preservationist and former Banff town councillor Peter Poole is president – include acquisition and restoration of heritage buildings for reuse or new purposes to build community.
Another aim is to create and provide resources for heritage homeowners in Banff and other Rocky Mountain towns as well as encouraging the protection of Banff’s heritage properties and sites at risk of redevelopment.
Initially, the focus of Bowstrings is on the century-old Mountain School building, located on a double lot at 606-608 Caribou Street, and Rutherford Cottage at 525 Buffalo Street. There are plans for an architectural renovation of Rutherford Cottage.
The Mountain School was initially slated for demolition as part of a redevelopment plan by Cameriam Properties, owned by New York Rangers’ President Glen Sather and local John Dowson. The company was given a development permit in late 2017 for four-plex housing at 606 and 608 Caribou Street.
The Banff Housing Corporation opposed the demolition of the Mountain House, which was founded and run as a private school run by Margaret and Henry Greenham between 1920 and 1947, and Bowstrings then went on to acquire the property in November 2020.
Margaret Greenham was a strong promoter of the dramatic arts in Banff, and organized the Banff Literary Dramatic Society and the first children’s theatre group in Alberta. The Greenham’s cultural activities contributed to the establishment of the Banff School for Fine Arts, now Banff Centre, which includes a theatre named in Margaret’s honour. Henry was a published poet.
As for Rutherford Cottage, Alberta’s first premier Alexander Rutherford commissioned J. Luckett to build the small cottage in 1908 to be used as a summer cottage for Rutherford and his family. Rutherford started the University of Alberta and the Banff Centre grew out of the U of A's Extension School.
