Report recommends heritage protection for Mendel building
City council could vote on designation by year’s end if idea garners approvals
The Mendel Art Gallery closed more than two years ago, but steps are being taken to preserve the building that once housed it.
Saskatoon city council could vote before the end of the year on bestowing heritage designation on the Mendel building, which is slated to become the new home of the Children’s Discovery Museum.
A report recommending heritage protection for the exterior of the building will be considered by the municipal heritage advisory committee Wednesday.
Committee chair Maggie Schwab said the Mendel building, which opened in 1964 and also houses the civic conservatory, is not as old as most buildings for which heritage designation is sought, but it’s “a perfect fit.”
“The Mendel has always been on the committee’s radar for buildings that have heritage value,” Schwab said in an interview Tuesday.
“I think it holds a lot of meaning to the citizens of Saskatoon.”
Schwab said the group behind the Children’s Discovery Museum has consulted with the committee on the renovations it plans for the building.
Museum officials are raising $15 million to redevelop the Mendel building with the museum scheduled to open in early 2019. The conservatory has closed for the first time since it opened in 1964 to accommodate the renovations, which include a new heating system.
“As a heritage committee, we don’t want to stop development,” Schwab said. “We want to make sure there is appropriate adaptive reuse of buildings.”
A report that will be considered by the committee says the heritage protection is being sought for the building both for its cultural significance and as an example of the Modernist architectural style.
The report cites “attributes that illustrate light, order and open space.”
The building was built for $600,000, including $175,000 from meat-packing mogul Fred Mendel, with the province and the city paying the rest. The design came from a nationwide search that settled on a proposal from a Winnipeg firm, the report says.
Local architect Derek Kindrachuk and municipal staff conducted a heritage evaluation in 2011. It identified elements of the building that would meet eligibility requirements for heritage designation, the report says.
Heritage designation would protect the lobby and the exterior of the building from substantial alterations. A bronze plaque that would cost $2,500 would be installed on the property to explain the heritage significance if the designations is approved.
City of Saskatoon officials are considering “potential options” to enhance the conservatory, the report adds. As its name suggests, the heritage advisory committee gives advice to city council, but does not make policy decisions.
If the committee approves the report Wednesday, it would then be forwarded to council’s planning, development and community services committee. If approved at that level, the report would then to head to council.