Downtown pubs: City council chooses growth over heritage
Barring some sudden change of heart, the fate of two historic downtown buildings has been decided. They will be demolished and replaced by new apartment buildings that in some way reflect the character of the 19th century designs that disappear.
What form that takes will be almost entirely up to the developer who plans to replace them.
That’s an interpretation of the result of Monday night’s council meeting where the fate of the buildings was discussed at length. But it seems an accurate interpretation.
The three-storey buildings are without doubt historically and architecturally important. That point was made by many speakers, experts in the field and concerned citizens.
The buildings are best known as being home to two bars: the Black Horse Pub on George St. and the Pig’s Ear Tavern around the corner on Brock St. Together they bookend the larger, beautifully preserved Morrow Building, one of downtown’s architectural gems.
A number of competing interests were on the table. Most were clearly presented.
The current owners of both buildings opposed heritage designation, which would have allowed city council to block demolition. They want to sell and realize a return on their investments, in one case to fund their retirement. If the buildings were designated the developer would back out.
The developer also opposed designation and said that preserving even the facades would make the project too costly. He offered a design negotiation but no details of what would be acceptable.
The heritage preservation community asked for heritage designation so that council could block demolition and control changes to any architectural features.
City council’s interest is muddier, despite the 7-2 vote to negotiate, not designate.
Some councillors were most interested in getting more apartments downtown and the promised $20 million investment to build them. Others voiced concern that the current owners be able to sell and realize a return on all the work they had done in the past.
Adding downtown housing is an important goal. It is also mandatory under future growth policies laid down by the province.
However, it can conflict with the goal of preserving historic buildings that establish a unique look and feel. Peel away too much history and the attraction of living downtown erodes.
Private property rights are another conflict zone. Should anyone who bought an old building before it was designated be exempt from the community responsibility to preserve history?
The Pig’s Ear/Black Horse saga was this council’s first significant heritage controversy. The result indicates much more interest in development opportunities and property rights than in heritage conservation.
Rather than wait for the next controversial demolition application to arrive, council should be talking about whether that is in fact how it sees the future.