Mayor denies quoting engineers on PSB, but adds ‘I’d like to see it bulldozed’

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This article was published 09/03/2016 (3507 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Mayor Brian Bowman is denying he claimed engineers advised the Public Safety Building should be demolished, a statement he clearly made following his address to the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce two weeks ago.

Bowman told reporters this morning he favours demolishing the 50-year-old PSB in favour of a public open space that acts as a link with city hall and a gateway between the east and west Exchange districts.

When questioned, Bowman said an administrative report concluded the building isn’t salvageable and denied making references to an engineering report.

Bowman told reporters this morning upgrading the PSB isn’t worth the investment, adding those funds would be better spent elsewhere.

“The cost we would have to incur to save it — and to what end? — is one that I don’t favour,” Bowman said after his weekly meeting with members of his executive policy committee. “I think we can use that space for better purposes for the public.

“My position is clear: I’d like to see it bulldozed.”

Bowman’s comments follow a decision by the property and development committee late Tuesday night to postpone any decision on the building’s fate for 30 days, until more information is presented about its heritage and architectural value, and the direction given to a consulting firm that reviewed the building’s status.

The administration said the report from Deloitte concluded there are too many issues facing the structure — including a crumbling Tyndall-stone facade — to warrant a costly renovation.

The Deloitte study contradicted Bowman’s Feb. 25 comments, finding no structural issues with the PSB, but said the building had many shortcomings that likely are not worth upgrading: there are accessibility issues; it has no main-floor windows; it has an absence of underground parking; its mechanical systems are located in the adjoining Civic Parkade, which will be demolished; and its exterior is crumbling.

Coun. John Orlikow, chairman of the property and development committee, said this morning he agreed with the committee’s decision to take more time to study all issues surrounding the PSB.

“Heritage is in the eyes of the beholder sometimes,” Orlikow (River Heights-Fort Garry) said Wednesday. “We want to make sure… we’re just not rolling through and demolishing a building.”

The PSB is currently occupied by Winnipeg Police, who are transitioning into new headquarters on Graham Avenue. The move should be completed by the end of June.

While the committee put off any decision on the PSB, councillors voted 3-1 to allow city staff to begin a search for a private-sector buyer for the Graham Avenue tower.

“We have to find a way to maximize a value from this albatross,” said Orlikow Tuesday night, stating council was misled about the benefits of acquiring it in 2009, when the city paid $29.25 million for the former Canada Post tower and warehouse. “When we were informed this would be a no-brainer, a great piece of land, that information we were provided, we agreed with. It was a mistake.”

The Graham tower is 10 per cent full, faces a $20-million renovation and loses $2.1 million for the city each year. 

Coun. Russ Wyatt (Transcona) questioned why city offices can not be moved into the PSB and expressed concern it may be demolished in order to make it easier to find civic tenants for the 10-storey Graham Avenue‎ office tower.

Wyatt, who voted against finding buyers for the Graham tower, suggested Tuesday night civic staff could be relocated from leased facilities into the PSB, but Orlikow said that’s not a financially viable alternative.

Orlikow said the lease rate at Fort Garry Place, where many civic employees from the planning department are based, is considerably less expensive than what he believes it would cost to upgrade and renovate the PSB.

“The report from Deloitte said that’s not a good option; you could still do it but it’s not a good option,” Orlikow said. “I believe it will just cost way more for the taxpayer to put all those (civic employees there), with all the renovation costs it will incur. I don’t see the value in doing that, personally.”

The Tuesday night PSB discussion also saw tempers flare between Wyatt and Coun. Jenny Gerbasi. When Gerbasi briefly opposed a motion to subject the building to a formal heritage review — a move that could have sparked a six-month delay — the Transcona councillor accused his Fort Rouge counterpart of hypocritically acquiescing to demolition plans when she’s been a staunch heritage advocate in the past.

aldo.santin@freepress.mb.ca

bartley.kives@freepress.mb.ca