Fate of ex-RCMP headquarters caught in reconciliation discussion
The old RCMP headquarters at 33rd and Heather is a handsome Tudor building designed by B.C. architectural legend Samuel Maclure.
Built in 1912 as the private Langara School, the RCMP took it over in 1920 and renamed it the Fairmont Academy. A century later, it is a local landmark that rates an A on Vancouver’s heritage register, the highest ranking.
But the building is located in the Heather Lands, a 21-acre site jointly owned by the Musqueam Indian Band, Squamish Nation and Tsleil-Waututh Nation (MST Nations) and Canada Lands Company (CLC).
On Tuesday, the City of Vancouver approved a policy statement for the redevelopment of the Heather Lands into a “sustainable neighbourhood” with 2,300 homes for 4,000 people.
The mixed-income neighbourhood is to include a cultural centre, a “forest trail” that connects the housing to a new park, and architecture and landscape design “informed by Indigenous values and design principles.”
But it won’t include the Fairmont Academy, because it represents the troubled history the RCMP have with the three local First Nations. So it will either be torn down or moved.
Heritage Vancouver is so alarmed at the prospect of losing the building, it made the Fairmont Academy No. 1 in its annual top-10 list of endangered heritage sites.
Heritage Vancouver executive director Bill Yuen says the Fairmont Academy is a good example of the changing approach to heritage.
“It’s looking at a site, and understanding a site in terms of the many different ways it’s important,” said Yuen.
“Traditionally, we’ve been looking at architecture and history, but through the Heather Lands process we (not only) looked at historical records and surveys, the City of Vancouver conducted some conversations with the owners of the land and stakeholders.
“Through those conversations, we’ve come to understand that there’s (other) really significant aspects of that site and that building. One is the importance of it to First Nations, who are asking for (Fairmont Academy) to be removed as an act of reconciliation, because of the painful memories they associate with the RCMP building.”
Normally, Heritage Vancouver tries to have buildings remain on their original site, but in this case it says the city’s proposal to move the building “may have its merits.”
That could be complicated, because Fairmont Academy is a 30,000-square-foot structure, and may have to be cut up to be moved. Yuen also says a new site should include an explanation of why it was moved.
“We’re saying the issue is not just keep it there or move it, that’s not the end of the discussion,” said Yuen.
“Because you have the story of reconciliation, you have the story of the RCMP ... you have the story of the building as a school. If it’s moved onto another site, there’s a challenge: how do you figure all that stuff out and tell that story and make it relevant to people?”
So many heritage buildings are endangered across the city that much of the list largely focuses on areas or building types, rather than individual structures. The list includes designated heritage neighbourhoods such as Chinatown and Gastown, which are under huge development pressure because of their prime location and cachet.
We’re saying the issue is not just keep it there or move it, that’s not the end of the discussion.
Mom-and-pop stores are becoming an endangered species in the ongoing real estate boom, so they made the list under “neighbourhood businesses.” False Creek’s vanishing industrial heritage is also on the list, in the form of 525 Great Northern Way, a stunning art gallery in an old Finning Tractor building that may be demolished for a new SkyTrain line.
The list is rounded out by David Lloyd George Elementary School, the Sinclair Centre, Britannia Community Centre, the Takehara/Yada Apartments in Fairview Slopes, and the UBC War Memorial Gym.
The list can be viewed online at heritagevancouver.org/top10watch-lists