One of Winnipeg’s oldest homes will be demolished to make room for two new ones, after a city committee found it’s in no state to be salvaged.
On Wednesday, city council’s appeal committee cast a final vote to allow the Polson House at 94 Cathedral Ave., to be demolished for the new development, quashing an appeal that aimed to stop the project and save the home.
Coun. Jeff Browaty, the committee’s chairman, said it is sad to lose the structure.
BROOK JONES / FREE PRESS
City council’s appeal committee cast a final vote to allow the Polson House, at 94 Cathedral Ave., to be demolished.
“It’s been falling into disrepair over time. This one does seem to have quite the story and it is disappointing (to lose it),” said Browaty (North Kildonan).
The two-storey wood frame home was built in 1894 for Alexander Polson, who served on Winnipeg City Council in 1887 and 1888, as per the Manitoba Historical Society. It was not protected against demolition because it was never added to the city’s list of historical resources.
Browaty said a letter from both the Seven Oaks Historical Society and Heritage Winnipeg deemed the structure too far gone to save, which played a key role in his decision.
Coun. John Orlikow, another member of the committee, agreed the home couldn’t be saved.
“We’d all love to keep the building… but that is not our role at this point. This building, unfortunately… is past that point and it is creating a problem in the neighbourhood,” said Orlikow (River Heights-Fort Garry).
The project’s developer told the committee the vacant home has attracted trespassers and drug use “many times,” despite being boarded up, and has had at least one fire.
“It’s like a sore thumb for residents who pass by it daily,” said Tajinder Pal Singh, head of Anand Infrastructure and Consulting Ltd.
Singh said the cost to salvage the building would be “somewhere north of $350,000,” which isn’t financially feasible.
“I know it has historical value and it is of sentimental value for some people involved, but considering the state of the house, it is, to me, not feasible to renovate it,” he said.
Meanwhile, he said the two new homes would be close to transit and supported by existing pipes and roads, which makes the lot ideal for infill development.
A few residents spoke to support the appeal that aimed to save the Polson house. The city’s planning, property and development director had approved demolition.
Some argued efforts to save it would be worth the price.
“That, in fact, is a bargain, for a house of 2,000 square feet,” said Walter Kleinschmit, the president of Heritage Saint-Boniface.
“(The home at) 94 Cathedral Ave. definitely belongs there, as it was built, but… renovated to correct recent years of neglect,” added Kleinschmit.
He suggested the city should seek partners to save the house, instead of allowing it to be replaced.
By contrast, Kenneth Ingram, an area resident and president of the Seven Oaks Historical Society, said the home is past the point of repair, despite its clear historic value.
“This house has been a problem for a very long time… There’s no possible way that this could be restored,” said Ingram.
He said the developer has agreed to let the historical society remove historic interior elements of the home that remain in good condition, including crown mouldings, ceiling medallions and stained glass, which would be given to neighbours to reuse. A historical marker will also be added to the property to note its significance.
“If we’re going to have to lose (this home), I think it couldn’t have possibly been done in a better way,” said Ingram.
The development will split the property into two 25-foot lots, which will each have a two-storey single-family home and attached secondary suite.
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Joyanne Pursaga
Reporter
Joyanne is city hall reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. A reporter since 2004, she began covering politics exclusively in 2012, writing on city hall and the Manitoba Legislature for the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in early 2020. Read more about Joyanne.
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