Lussier questions garage demolition
Sherbrooke mayoral candidate Steve Lussier attended a public meeting of Sherbrooke’s demolitions committee on Wednesday afternoon in order to voice his concerns about plans to demolish the parking garage located on Depot Street.
“Everyone knows that, economically speaking, things are now going well for the city budget right now,” Lussier said. “I wonder if it wouldn’t be better to use what we have rather than knocking everything down.”
The mortgage manager and aspiring mayor argued that the demolition plan, as well as the larger Well Inc. development plan for Wellington Street South, is being pushed ahead by the city without a clear idea of current or long-term costs.
Committee members Nicole Gagnon, Vincent Boutin, and Robert Pouliot, supported by information from Sherbrooke urban planner Michel Beauchesne, explained that the parking lot is 55 years old and is reaching the end of its usable life.
According to Beauchesne, the cost of restoring the existing garage has been estimated at $2.2 million for an additional 15 years of life, while the cost of adding another floor to expand capacity is in the range of $5 million. Although the committee acknowledged that building a new garage would not be cost free, they argued that the end result of a new, larger space was the more economical choice in the long run.
“We could invest in the medium term to get a few more years out of it, but I think the wiser move is to undertake a major project for this parking lot,” Boutin said adding that, “we will not demolish without rebuilding.”
Boutin explained that the act of approving the demolition was all about being ready and he pointed out that even with this approval, the demolition and reconstruction plan still needs the approval of the city council for anything to move forward.
Asked about what would happen with the parking garage if the redevelopment plan were to be scrapped or to fall behind, Boutin adopted a “safety first” tone.
“The moment our services say that the structure is no longer safe, we will not play around with that,” the city councillor said, explaining that the building is subject to regular inspection.