City to demolish shipyard buildings
5-2 vote seals fate of waterfront's heritage-designated buidings
Heidi Castle, North Shore News
Published: Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Three heritage-designated buildings on the City of North Vancouver's waterfront will be torn down, their fate tied to the proposed National Maritime Centre.
"We all want the National Maritime Centre," said Mayor Darrell Mussatto at Monday's council meeting. "I think it's important that we organize our proposal such that it has the greatest chance of success."
The federal and provincial governments have been clear that in order for it to be considered, the overall costs of the project must be reduced, said Mussatto.
The city's original proposal came in at $106 million. That amount is now down to some $80 million.
The cost to dismantle, store and reuse two of the three buildings could bump the overall project back up by as much as $3 million.
That figure included retaining and reusing the former Wallace Shipyard machine shop and blacksmith shop.
Staff excluded costs to retain the third building, a boiler shop. According to a report that building is in shed form with little reuse value.
What is being saved and integrated into the centre plans is Building 10, a machine shop on Parcel 9, at a cost of some $2 million. That amount is factored into the proposal before the government.
A motion to at least save the blacksmith shop, structurally the most viable of the three buildings under scrutiny, failed.
Coun. Sam Schechter told council that despite the almost $1.6 million it would cost to save the blacksmith shop, he was willing to take the risk.
"It's an expensive compromise," said Schechter. "It's not in the name of thrift that I suggested it."
"We are trying to tell a story on the waterfront," he said. "That story might be better told if we try to retain a little more of what we can, even if there is financial peril."
"If we don't have $1.6 million, we certainly don't have the tens of millions of dollars necessary to rehabilitate those sites in the future," said Coun. Craig Keating.
"If the National Maritime Centre does not proceed, those heritage buildings are also at risk," he said.
This is more than a question of heritage Keating told council. The city can't afford not to take the risk, he said.
The city needs to honor its commitments, said Coun. Bob Fearnley. "We made a commitment to the public to save a heritage precinct that includes these buildings," he said.
Council voted 5-2 to rescind the heritage designation and move forward with demolition. Couns. Pam Bookham and Bob Fearnley voted against the motion.
