DEMOLITION
BETHANY HOME
The longtime fixture of Saskatoon will be demolished this weekend.
The 100- year- old Bethany Home in City Park is set to be demolished this weekend.
“I love heritage, but I just couldn’t make this happen. The property is worth more than the building,” said Tim Ryan, who purchased 802 Queen St. three months ago from the Salvation Army for $1.4 million.
In December, there was a glimmer of hope that the building would be saved. Ryan was prepared to give the house to anyone prepared to move it from the lot that sits across the street from Kinsmen Park, one block from the riverbank and a five-minute walk from downtown. A prospective owner explored the possibility of moving the massive structure to a lot on Saskatchewan Crescent. In the end, the moving fee originally estimated to be about $ 80,000 jumped to about $250,000, including what the city would charge for using Circle Drive Bridge, says Ryan.
The large stone and brick house was built in 1912 by William (Billy) Silverwood. In 1938, it was purchased by the Salvation Army, which opened it as a home for unwed mothers. When the Salvation Army closed the home, most recently used for troubled teens, a community group wanting to open a hospice in the city considered buying it. The group wasn’t able to raise enough money to pay for the significant renovations needed and the upgrades necessary to make the building wheelchair accessible.
“If the house was worth something, someone would have bought it as a house. The maintenance and the utility bills were crazy and bleeding the Salvation Army dry,” said Ryan.
“I paid for the dirt. I didn’t pay for the building.”
After purchasing the property, Ryan offered the building to the city to be used in Kinsmen Park. He was asked to consider renovating it into condominiums, but the expense was too high, he says.
The City Park community association is disappointed that something wasn’t done to prevent the demolition of Bethany Home.
“An unusual, memorable historic house is about to be demolished to make way for a condo unit. It’s a character house which added some style to City Park. It’s 100 years old, a bit of history. It’s very sad to see it torn down and demolished,” said community association president Michael Murphy.
He believes the house should have been designated as a heritage building long ago, or at the very least, the neighbours should have been consulted before the demolition permit was issued by the city.
“People would have been given a chance to voice their opinion and to come up with suggestions as to what might happen and to be satisfied in regards to harmonization with the existing area.”
He is also concerned about the proposed condo development and how it might affect on-street parking and traffic on the roads.
Ryan hasn’t finalized plans for the lot. He was looking at building a mix of commercial and residential space, but is questioning that now. The commercial portion of a similar development in the city hasn’t sold the way he would have expected.
With the demolition crew moving on to the site this weekend, the house will be down within a day. It’ll take a few days for the crew to sort the rubble and haul it away.