Like ‘knocking down Cabot Tower’
Proposed downtown development would mostly demolish heritage building
“This is very troubling,” said John Fitzgerald, a Newfoundland historian and executive director of the Basilica Heritage Foundation.
What’s concerning him is a proposed residential development that would demolish most of a designated heritage building in the Ecclesiastical District national historic site, the Cathedral Parish Hall on Queen’s Road.
The hall and the land which extends up the hill to Harvey Road have been conditionally sold by the Anglican Diocese of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador to developer Parish Lane Development Inc., pending city approval of rezoning. The proposal for two buildings, which would house a total of 40 residential units, would require the green space, currently zoned open space, and the Hall, currently zoned institutional, to both be rezoned as commercial central mixed-use (CCM). It would also require a municipal plan amendment.
The proposal will go to a public meeting on Nov. 27 before city council makes a decision, likely in January.
“They’re doing this in the middle of a national historic district. It’s not a site, it’s a district, and the district has 27 national historic sites or persons within its radius. There’s nothing like this in Canada. There’s very little like this in the world.”
Fitzgerald said he has been working on getting the Ecclesiastical District recognized as a world heritage district.
“We will never get that if we start destroying national historic sites in our precinct. So, we have to choose. Do we want a condo tower in the middle of an Ecclesiastical Precinct which is a national historic district?”
Fitzgerald was among four people who organized an informal meeting on Nov. 13 to discuss the proposal in advance of next week’s public meeting. Other organizers included Heather Maclellan, a retired assistant deputy minister of culture and heritage and former superintendent of national historic sites with Parks Canada; Dr. Anne Walsh, pastoral associate at St. Theresa’s Parish; and Colleen Shea, retired from public programming at The Rooms.
He said at least 70 people attended the meeting.
Fitzgerald said that in 2006 and 2007 all of the churches in the Ecclesiastical District were asked their permission to designate their properties.
“The Anglicans agreed to this, and this is very troubling – are they turning their back on this now? Because if you demolish a national historic site, not only is it under threat, you just obliterated it.”
Fitzgerald said if indeed the Parish Hall is “trashed,” then the best course of action is to preserve what can be saved and adaptively reuse the building, with any construction done carefully, in a sympathetic style using the design of the existing architecture.
“There are many ways to do something down there. This proposed condo tower is not one of them.”
Fitzgerald is pushing to put a hold on the application until an appraisal is done of the Ecclesiastical District’s value to the tourism industry.
“Here we are in a province that’s in tricky economic circumstances. We can use everything we have. We can use every resource we have, and this is a major one.”
Fitzgerald said the national designation means buildings in the district can apply for funding to maintain their properties. Demolishing one of the buildings, he said, will jeopardize what Historic Sites and Monuments calls the commemorative integrity of the national historic district. He said that will make it more difficult for other heritage properties in the area to get federal funding.
“I do not understand the mentality of people who want to demolish national historic sites. It’s like going up with a bulldozer and knocking down Cabot Tower.”
From the Anglican East NL’S report of the commission on parish renewal and viability titled “Surviving or Thriving: The Future of the Church in the Diocese of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador,” released last month, the diocese lists “Heritage designations for some buildings” as a threat, along with other threats such as “Negative perception of the church.”
Under a section of the report on property management, it states, “It is clear from analysis of the Parish Profiles that this diocese has too many buildings. Congregations and vestries have become fixated on maintaining the buildings that their ancestors have built.”
Minutes from the city’s Built Heritage Experts Panel meeting with the developer on May 15 say it appears the panel is open to de-designation of the Parish Hall, with assurances on the implementation of the applicant’s plan through legal documentation. The minutes say the panel would review the developer’s land use assessment report before making any recommendations on amending the heritage designation.
On Parks Canada’s directory of federal heritage designations, some of the character-defining elements for the Ecclesiastical District include “the various landscape features including trees, shrubs and open spaces” as well the Parish Hall.
“Overall, visual impact is achieved through the use of varying materials, architectural styles and open spaces,” reads part of the description of the district by Parks Canada.
THE CITY’S PERSPECTIVE
City council development lead Coun. Maggie Burton said council will review the proposed development like any other: based on the individual merits of the development, public input, how it aligns with the municipal plan and development regulations.
While Burton would not comment on the application directly, she did say it’s important for council to ensure it is balancing the needs of improving access to residential units while also living up to its climate-action promises.
“I know that people are really responding to that since we had our climate-emergency declaration recently, but there’s a lot to consider when it comes to adding density to the city versus adding more greenfield (undeveloped land) development at the urban-rural fringe, for example. So, there are a lot of considerations, and a lot of different sides to this.”
Burton said condo, apartment or residential vacancy rates are not something council considers with development proposals because every development has a different target market.
She noted people are eager to become engaged on developments earlier in the process, as evidenced by the informal grassroots meeting.
“I’ve spoken publicly before about the need to review an application before the design is finalized, for example, so people can comment on the architecture. So often we hear from proponents that it’s a pretty finalized design before it even goes out to public engagement.”
Anyone unable to attend the public meeting can email their thoughts about the development to cityclerk@stjohns.ca.