It may be one of the oldest homes in Winnipeg — and was even built by the grandson of one of the original Selkirk Settlers — but even a heritage advocate admits it would be better if it was demolished and replaced by two new homes.
The Polson House, at 94 Cathedral Ave., which is named for its first owner, has been vacant so long it would cost more than what it’s worth to make it livable again.
While the city’s director of planning, property and development has given permission for a new developer to create two residential lots on the site, the decision has been appealed and will be heard Wednesday.
Cindy Tugwell, Heritage Winnipeg’s executive director, co-signed a letter supporting the demolition and opposing the appeal earlier this month, but said she isn’t happy about the situation.
“It’s a classic ‘demolition by neglect,’” said Tugwell.
“The property is now very derelict and you can do the math. When it reaches a certain state, it is too cost-prohibitive to do it. If it’s $150,000 to fix, versus the cost of demolition, it doesn’t make sense.
“You would never make any money if you sold it.”
While the house has history, the city has placed it on its historical commemorative list, which means there are no protections on it at all.
Tugwell said many residents in the area want to see it torn down.
“The house is beautiful. It’s a 19th-century home and it fits on the streetscape so well. But I also feel sorry for the neighbours who have had to look at this blight every day. And it has become a safety issue, too,” she said.
The sole appellant is Gillian Crawford, a community member who sits on the Seven Oaks House Museum’s board. She said she lives on Cathedral Avenue and recognizes the safety and cost concerns related to the house. She called her appeal a “last-ditch effort” to see if the home could possibly be moved or any other action could be taken.
“I’m not necessarily against developing the spot, housing is super important, and we want to have people moving into the community.… I was just really hoping if there’s any last way that if the house could be saved, I just wanted to bring that forward,” she said.
She said she hoped that, if the demolition does go through, the neighbourhood is able to forge a relationship with the developer.
“I don’t know the developer, and I’m not saying that they wouldn’t be responsible. But in the North End, you don’t have to look far to find infill housing that is boarded up, as well,” she said.
Tajinder Pal Singh, who heads Anand Infrastructure and Consulting Ltd., is the developer on the proposed demolition and new build. He said the current owner bought the building in 2023 and costs to repair and bring the house up to code could be upwards of $350,000.
“Nobody’s going to pay us for that much renovation costs… if the (city) wants to give us $350,000 to restore it, why not? We’d take that,” he said.
He said the building has been vacant for about five years.
A previous developer convinced the city to allow the lot to be split into two in 2021, but that agreement lapsed when nothing went forward.
Singh consulted Heritage Winnipeg and the Seven Oaks Historical Society before making any decisions and provided a tour of the house and an estimate from a contractor. He also got the thumbs-up from several neighbours in the surrounding area, he said.
The new properties will feature a commemorative monument that documents the history behind the Polson House
“Even if we can have a stone or something engraved, we’ll do that,” he said.
Seven Oaks Historical Society president Kenneth Ingram called the demolition “the best possible result of a worst-case scenario” for a part of Winnipeg that isn’t given the attention it needs from city leadership.
“The North and West Kildonan and old Kildonan, has just been a part of the city that’s been neglected for years, and because of it, a lot of our history and our historical buildings are no longer standing,” he said.
He said the support from his organization was contingent on the developer’s willingness to consult with people in the area.
“Through our dealings with that developer, he’s basically done virtually every possible thing to ensure that the history of this house is preserved in some shape or form,” he said.
“This is going to be an issue that’s that’s only going to increase over the coming decades, and a lot of these older houses are the ones that are vulnerable.”– Christian Cassidy
The house was constructed in 1894. It was first owned by Alexander and Jesse Polson. Alexander Polson was a city inspector and while Jesse was known for her charity work through St. John’s Cathedral.
Their children lived in the house as late as 1957, when it was sold.
Local historian Christian Cassidy described the house as lively — one of the Polson sons started a radio station there in 1911, and it had long been host to community gatherings and events.
“For Cathedral Avenue, this would have been one of the social hot spots of the neighbourhood,” he said.
The situation is a double-edged sword in Cassidy’s view: a community with aging housing stock will benefit from two new up-to-code units, but as the city’s focus on infill housing grows, more buildings of this type will be lost.
“These are issues that are going to come up more and more with the push and the extra funding for densification of housing, incentives for infill housing, in these older neighbourhoods,” he said.
“This is going to be an issue that’s that’s only going to increase over the coming decades, and a lot of these older houses are the ones that are vulnerable.”
kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca
malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca
Kevin Rollason
Reporter
Kevin Rollason is one of the more versatile reporters at the Winnipeg Free Press. Whether it is covering city hall, the law courts, or general reporting, Rollason can be counted on to not only answer the 5 Ws — Who, What, When, Where and Why — but to do it in an interesting and accessible way for readers.
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Malak Abas
Reporter
Malak Abas is a reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.