As expected, City Council voted 9-6 (Councillor Browaty having excused himself from the debate and vote) to not grant heritage protection to the Grain Exchange Annex. Winnipeg Free Press
Councillors O’Shaughnessy and Fielding made it very clear that they felt the Annex had no heritage value whatsoever, with Councillor O’Shaughnessy trying to make it quite clear that in his opinion the Exchange District (a billion dollar asset in my opinion) has no value in his mind whatsoever; I assume he’s not a fan of 19th and early 20th century architecture and the tourists and commerce they can bring.
The most interesting thing about the debate was the fact that the argument towards demolition was based primarily on Heritage Winnipeg‘s decision to stand with the developer in saying that the Annex was not worth saving. The dynamic of heritage preservation in this city has been changed, and not for the better, by Heritage Winnipeg’s decision to actively support the destruction of built heritage. This was an odd choice for an organization whose mission is “to promote and encourage the conservation of historic/heritage structures and sites and attend to those matters which enhance and complement this purpose”. As Councillor Gerbasi asked, why did Cindy Tugwell not just stay home if she didn’t think the Annex was worth saving? Why did Heritage Winnipeg go out of its way to promote the demolition of a 1920 office building in good condition?
This odd change in behaviour, which was made with no public comment to Winnipeggers who have supported the organization in the past, comes just after the Dennistoun House situation, where Heritage Winnipeg’s Executive Directory Cindy Tugwell stated publicly that she hadn’t even realized that there was a heritage building facing demolition.
I sent an e-mail to both Cindy Tugwell and the President of Heritage Winnipeg, Penny McMillan, to find out if a representative would speak at council in favour of preserving the Annex. I received no response to that correspondence, other than seeing that Cindy Tugwell had chosen to speak for demolition, even before the property owner and architect were added to the delegation list.
I don’t say this lightly, but I feel it needs to be said: when the next heritage building is at risk, I have no faith that Heritage Winnipeg will provide any advocacy whatsoever. It’s not their job to compromise with developers; that is the job of city staff and city council. The mandate of Heritage Winnipeg, like that of any defence attorney, is to defend their client to the best of their abilities. When regular citizens are required to speak at council to defend heritage because Heritage Winnipeg has switched sides, it becomes obvious that the organization is no longer serving the purpose for which it is intended.
I would like to see a new organization created to work for the betterment of the Exchange District and the core area as a whole, because it’s clear to me that at the moment there are no citizen-run organizations we can rely on to ensure that we don’t lose the Exchange District piece by piece. I’m imagining an Internet-based group, which relies on its members to lobby all levels of government when necessary to advance our agenda of a vibrant downtown, modeled on cities that truly know how to foster a healthy urban environment.
Is anyone on the Intranets willing to stand up for downtown Winnipeg and our billion-dollar asset? I just watched Fight Club, so there’s a chance it may require wearing all black and shaving your heads. Let me know if you’re interested.
Note: I also want to be clear that I do not fault the property owner, Artis REIT, or the architect, Ray Wan, for their plans. As a business, even a business with an eye for heritage, Artis REIT is going to make choices that in their mind carry an acceptable amount of risk for a worthwhile return. In their opinion, this plan was a better horse to bet on than preserving the Annex as part of the new development. However, that does not mean that the city should absolve itself of any responsibility to negotiate for preservation. Councillor O’Shaughnessy, as part of his statement, took us on a quick tour of all of the surface lots and new buildings that were a result of the city’s utter failure to preserve its heritage. He also reminded us that the city made promises to support Artis REIT in the past with a heritage restoration but backed out, resulting in serious losses for the company. Perhaps it’s no wonder that Artis REIT isn’t asking for a similar plan for the Annex. Why should they risk their company on a city that isn’t willing to support its unique heritage district?
Wyatt made an impassioned speech in defence of the Annex. I thought everyone had a good crack at it. O’Shaughneesy had his opinion and it was good to see him bring it from experience to cut through the mustard.
In the end, they voted.
As far as standing up for the Xchange, I’ve made my case before with a couple of possible solutions. In the end, unless you are on that council floor, not much can be done if you can’t get behind closed doors.
Ask yourself, how is a rookie councillor convinced ? Fielding did a good job presenting the articles, but he was always on the proponents side , why was is that.
@Mr. Nobody: I think you’re right on with this one; if we don’t have enough influence to be involved before these issues come before council, we’re too late. That’s why I think it’s time for an active, organized downtown lobby. I know that you have some ideas on the issue, perhaps this is something you’d like to have some input on?
I’m always interested in discussing issues that 100 years from now, people can look back and say…they did a good thing.
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