Fate of Winnipeg building facing wrecking ball put on hold
Last Updated: Tuesday, June 30, 2009 | 2:28 PM CT
CBC News
A decision on the fate of an old downtown Winnipeg building facing demolition will wait a couple of weeks.
Artis REIT, owners of the Grain Exchange Annex on Lombard Avenue, want to tear down the three-storey building to build a parkade.
The matter was scheduled to be debated Tuesday morning by a city hall committee, but Coun. Jeff Browaty declared a conflict of interest and excused himself from the meeting. As a result, there were not enough councillors present to legally hold the meeting.
It has been postponed until July 13, at which time councillors on the planning, property and development committee will listen to the owner's proposal and decide if the building is historically significant enough to protect it from demolition.
Coun. Jenny Gerbasi conceded there is a need for more parking spaces in the area, but not at the cost of losing another historical building.
"You don't take out solid heritage buildings in a national historic site," she said. "Other cities like Halifax and Quebec, cities that value heritage, would never allow this to happen."
Earlier this month the city allowed a building in Osborne Village already on the conservation list to be demolished in favour of a condominium development.
Cindy Tugwell of Heritage Winnipeg, which opposed the demolition in Osborne Village, intends to be at the committee meeting in July and is prepared to listen to what the owner has to say.
The Annex is a squat three-storey building put up in the 1920s next to the historically protected Grain Exchange building. It has been empty since 2004.
The historical buildings committee proposed last year that the Annex be given a Grade III heritage status — a designation for buildings that represent moderately significant heritage — and put the building on the city's conservation list. The proposal was rejected by the city in May.
