A non-profit organization has made a former Hells Angels clubhouse its base of operations.
A joint police raid led to the seizure the biker gang’s former clubhouse on Heron Street, just down the road from Ogden Community Public School in 2006. The Ministry of the Attorney General then took over the property a year later.
Linda Bruins, co-ordinator for Evergreen A United Neighbourhood, said they had their eye on the building for some time and almost immediately thought it could serve as the organization’s main office.
“We’ve never had our own place,” Bruins said. “When this came up we sent a letter to the Attorney General’s office and they said they had to sell it and I said I don’t think you`ll find a buyer for it. It’s not that big of a house actually. Symbolically, I think it could show positive images for the neighbourhood as well we do need some place to store our records and hold small community meetings.”
Bruins said they received the keys to the property last year but couldn’t move into the building until city council approved the rezoning of the area.
Bruins said they are collecting signatures for when they go to city council on Nov. 21.
Evergreen started out as a federal project under the Action for Neighbourhood Change that came to Thunder Bay in 2005. It shut down after two years but then a group of volunteers came together to start the Evergreen project in the Ogden and Simpson Street area in 2007 through funding by the United Way.
Bruins said the goal of the project is to make the area cleaner and safer for the residents.
“This is about community pride,” she said. “I think that anything that happens here affects the entire city and vice versa. If there are positive things here it will filter to the rest of the city.”
She said they would have three parking spaces created at the back of the building in order to minimize any inconveniences to the neighbourhood. While a few people have voiced out against Evergreen moving into the building, Bruins said for the most part the community has been welcoming.
The building has been a part of the neighbourhood for more than a hundred years. It first opened as a store but then over the years the building changed hands to the biker gang Satan’s Choice in the 80s before becoming the clubhouse for the Hells Angels in 2000.
Don Stevens has lived across the street from the clubhouse since 1972. He said it didn’t bother him that much to have the Hells Angels as neighbours.
“They weren’t a good group actually but it was peaceful here. There were no problems,” Stevens said. “There was always a cop standing on the corner observing them especially on pay days.”
Stevens said whenever a Hells Angels member was killed the club would hold a small memorial service for them and they would have their bikes lined up all along the street.
He said his only concern with Evergreen taking over the building was parking.
“We have calendar parking here and there’s only really enough for people in the area and some friends that show up occasionally,” he said. “There’s going to be four or five staff here and are parked here every morning, it is going to be stressing out the corner a bit unless they can make a parking space in the back.”
