Edmonton’s Kingsway Legion looking to downsize, considering sale

Members of the Kingsway Legion will hold a vote on whether to lease part of the building to make money to pay for it, or to sell the building altogether.

Edmonton’s largest legion is considering downsizing.

Kingsway Legion Branch #175 has called a special meeting to discuss the sale of its building, due to ongoing financial strain.

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Veteran Richard Etmanski, Branch #175 president, said it comes as bills and building repairs have left the legion “mortgage poor.”

“They were doing fine when the building first opened and there were a lot of events going on in here, but then COVID hit and that caused a lot of problems,” Etmanski said.

The branch, like many other Royal Canadian Legion branches, struggled during the COVID-19 pandemic, as public health measures eliminated revenue from event rentals, canteens and bars.

In 2022, Branch #175 launched a GoFundMe that raised $63,540 to help pay the bills and make repairs to the building.

A series of meat draws organized by 100.3 The Bear helped raise another $85,000 for the cause and, that June, Edmonton city council voted to support the branch’s request for tax relief on more than $48,000 in penalties and interest.

Etmanski said the legion has been keeping its “head afloat” since, but it needs to think ahead.

A sale, he added, would allow them to buy a smaller building and put some money in the bank.

“We can’t keep up,” he said. “We’re just barely making things meet … it’s either that or have somebody win the lotto and pay off our mortgage.”

Should members not want to sell, Etmanski said another option would be to lease out part of the building.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Marek Tkach