Demolitions can proceed
Council directs city staff to work with developer on design to preserve architectural elements in redevelopment of Pig’s Ear, Black Horse
City council voted a final time on Monday night to not place heritage designations on the Pig’s Ear and The Black Horse.
Instead, council directed city staff to work with the developer that wants to buy the two historic bars and replace them with a pair of apartment buildings.
That developer is Parkview Homes. The owner, Paul Dietrich, has made it clear, recently, that he wants to demolish the buildings and put up apartments.
He may still be allowed – but council wants him to think hard about a design that preserves many of the architectural elements of the buildings.
Although council did not vote to pursue a heritage designation for the buildings – which would protect them from demolition – it asked that staff work with Dietrich “to explore viable alternatives for heritage preservation” with the new design for apartment buildings.
That part of the plan is new: In a preliminary vote, on March 27, council hadn’t insisted that the developer work with city staff to preserve as much of the architecture as possible.
The idea is to save as much as possible of the buildings but also allow Parkview Homes to come up with a viable plan for redevelopment.
At the council meeting, amid many pleas from citizens to save the buildings, the current owners of The Pig ’s Ear – Lylie Ryder and John Punter – asked council not to place heritage designation on the building they are about to sell to Parkview Homes.
Punter said he was vehement about it: they ran the pub for years, and this is their retirement at stake.
“Let’s be honest – it’s not a particularly attractive building,” he said of the Piggy.
He said he didn’t want “a hostile designation” foisted on him. He’s in the process of selling the building to Parkview Homes, he said, and he thought that would possibly spoil the deal.
Coun. Don Vassiliadis said he could understand the concerns of a couple of small-business owners who simply want to be able to retire.
It should mean something that they don’t want to have their building protected under a heritage designation, he said: They live in the building, and care about it like nobody else does.
Coun. Dan McWilliams said that does matter, that the owners don’t want a heritage designation.
“I don’t know why we can’t listen to what their (owners) wants and needs are,” he said.
Coun. Henry Clarke said we need development in the downtown – and this plan gives council the ability to ensure that development happens.
Turns out enough members of council thought maybe it was worth giving Parkview Homes the chance to redevelop – but also keep in mind that the design has to come after they’ve looked at every option for heritage preservation.
The vote was 7-2 in favour of the plan (there were two abstentions – Coun. Dean Pappas and Coun. Dave Haacke both declared pecuniary interest).
The vote came after three hours of delegations from the public.
Many people spoke passionately about saving the two historic buildings. Elwood Jones, an archivist, said he thought the two buildings – which are attached on either side of the historic Morrow Building – constitute a single landmark that is of national significance.
Kate Storey, a local artist, said councillors should think hard about heritage designations.
“Peterborough Square must have seemed like a good idea, at one time,” she said of the mall, which stands where an opera house once stood.
Dietrich was at the meeting but didn’t address council. Both his lawyer, Jeff Ayotte, and his planner, Kevin Duguay, said that saving the facades of the buildings wasn’t economically viable.
Ayotte said it isn’t an “either/or” proposition – he said the developer would work with the city to come up with a design that “respects” the heritage.
But some citizens asked council to protect the buildings – and not tear them down.
“Regret goes one way,” said Shelia Wood. “Once we get rid of history, in our downtown, it won’t come back.”