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The built heritage sub-committee has told a developer to go back to the drawing board after rejecting his plan to use the facade of a derelict Lowertown school for a new four-storey apartment building at the corner of Murray Street and Cumberland Avenue.
The rejection came despite the fact the city’s heritage planners had recommended approving the plan. The sub-committee nixed it, in part because the proposal demands demolishing a humble 1870s double cottage at 281 and 283 Cumberland Ave. to create more land that can be developed as part of the project.
The former Our Lady School, built in 1904, has long been a thorn in the city’s side. It was boarded up, crumbling and marked with graffiti. Last year, the city won a legal battle with landlord Claude Lauzon, who was ordered to stabilize and protect the west and south walls, as wells as the foundation of the school under the direction of a structural engineer.
Councillors on the sub-committee said it was tempting to approve the proposal as better than what’s there now, but it wouldn’t be in the spirit of protecting Lowertown heritage.
“I feel that we’re being faced with a Faustian bargain. We could sell out souls and end this nightmare,” said chair Tobi Nussbaum. “We’ve been living this nightmare for decades. Now we’re being asked to demolish another building in the heritage district.”
A city report released last week urged approving the plan to use the remaining two walls of the school as a facade. The new apartment building would make a far better contribution to neighbourhood than a vacant building, said the report.
The Lowertown Community Association liked the plan to clean up the school site, but argued that demolishing the cottage on Cumberland Street would poke an unnecessary hole in the fabric of a heritage district, as well as erase a little bit of Lowertown history. In the late 1800s, the cottage was home to three widows who eked out a living as seamstresses and landladies.
Liz MacKenzie, co-chair of the association’s heritage committee, said the school site has been “tormented and neglected” for years, but she hopes it will become a viable part of the community again.
After the meeting, MacKenzie said she was relieved that Lauzon’s proposal was rejected, but the association is keeping an eye on what he proposes next.
“There’s a temptation to say anything would be better,” she said. “But it can’t be just anything.”
查看原文...
The rejection came despite the fact the city’s heritage planners had recommended approving the plan. The sub-committee nixed it, in part because the proposal demands demolishing a humble 1870s double cottage at 281 and 283 Cumberland Ave. to create more land that can be developed as part of the project.
The former Our Lady School, built in 1904, has long been a thorn in the city’s side. It was boarded up, crumbling and marked with graffiti. Last year, the city won a legal battle with landlord Claude Lauzon, who was ordered to stabilize and protect the west and south walls, as wells as the foundation of the school under the direction of a structural engineer.
Councillors on the sub-committee said it was tempting to approve the proposal as better than what’s there now, but it wouldn’t be in the spirit of protecting Lowertown heritage.
“I feel that we’re being faced with a Faustian bargain. We could sell out souls and end this nightmare,” said chair Tobi Nussbaum. “We’ve been living this nightmare for decades. Now we’re being asked to demolish another building in the heritage district.”
A city report released last week urged approving the plan to use the remaining two walls of the school as a facade. The new apartment building would make a far better contribution to neighbourhood than a vacant building, said the report.
The Lowertown Community Association liked the plan to clean up the school site, but argued that demolishing the cottage on Cumberland Street would poke an unnecessary hole in the fabric of a heritage district, as well as erase a little bit of Lowertown history. In the late 1800s, the cottage was home to three widows who eked out a living as seamstresses and landladies.
Liz MacKenzie, co-chair of the association’s heritage committee, said the school site has been “tormented and neglected” for years, but she hopes it will become a viable part of the community again.
After the meeting, MacKenzie said she was relieved that Lauzon’s proposal was rejected, but the association is keeping an eye on what he proposes next.
“There’s a temptation to say anything would be better,” she said. “But it can’t be just anything.”
查看原文...
