The Alberta Aviation Museum is sounding the alarm bell, saying a surprising motion from Edmonton City Council in early July means the future of the beloved, historic non-profit is up in the air, literally.
On July 4, 2022, Council voted 11-2 in favour of Councillor Anne Stevenson's motion “That Administration implement a disposition strategy that maintains the public museum use within Hangar 14 including but not limited to partnering with other orders of government and private partners and that the strategy is limited to a maximum of 2 years at which time disposition options without conditions would be pursued.”
In short, they are selling Hangar 14, the aviation museum said in a press release, though buyers must allow the museum to still operate for the next two years. After two-years – there will be no restrictions on its sale. Officials say this short timeline introduces massive uncertainty for the future of the Alberta Aviation Museum’s collection and secured establishment within the City of Edmonton.
“Two years is an almost impossibly short amount of time to raise the required capital it will take to save the museum. Our options are to find a buyer willing to invest $40 million into Hangar 14 and let us continue to stay here rent-free or raise 30-40 million to build a new facility,” said museum curator Ryan Lee. “It took the aviation museum in Winnipeg over six years to raise this much money, plus an additional three years for construction and relocation. If we aren't successful, Edmonton will lose a museum dedicated to telling the city’s story that’s taken 42 years to build into what we have today.”
The museum’s collection, which fills most of the 86,000-square foot facility, includes more than 30 aircraft, an extensive archive of over 40,000 artifacts and photographs, a reference and research library with more than 5,000 titles, and extensive woodshops for woodworking, welding, and machining. Sharing the space are more than 20 licensed non-profit groups, including the Army and Air Force cadet corps, civilian search and rescue agencies, veterans’ groups, and local aircraft clubs.
“Relocating will be a herculean project, exceeding the capacity that a non-profit museum with less than ten full-time staff, and a volunteer board,” said Lee. “Having recently renewed a 25-year lease with the City in 2018, we have continued to honour our agreement in good faith to invest, maintain, and upgrade the city-owned facility to the best of our abilities. We expected the City to honour its commitments and invest in the Hangar."
Despite a last-ditch effort to ask patrons and the broader community to write a letter to the city in the 'Help save our hangar' campaign, the vote to consider selling means "We find ourselves shocked and dismayed at this sudden bombshell, and the massive uncertainty it suddenly places on our organization."
Lee re-iterates two years is not a realistic timeline to allow for an aviation museum to relocate, and he encourages Edmonton residents to contact their city councillors to voice their concerns on the issue.
The Museum is seeking to meet with City Administration, Councillors, and key community stakeholders in coming days to discuss and determine next steps, that will hopefully find a solution to saving the museum, and its collected history, says Lee.
Support the Museum
The museum remains open, seven days a week. Anyone interested in providing help to navigate a new path forward or submit stories of how the museum has changed their lives is asked to email [email protected].
