Regina city council to vote on demolition request at site where Louis Riel's body was kept
CBC
Regina city council is set to decide the fate of a building with a connection to Louis Riel.
At a council meeting set for Wednesday, councillors will vote on whether to approve the demolition of the Burns Hanley Building — which sits on the site once occupied by St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church, which was built in 1883. The Burns Hanley Building was constructed on the site in 1912.
That church that previously stood on the site was where Louis Riel's body was briefly kept after the Métis leader's execution in 1885, before it was sent to Winnipeg.
City staff initially recommended approving the demolition application for 1863 Cornwall St., but that recommendation was voted against by the Regina Planning Commission at an Oct. 6 meeting.
It recommended that council deny the demolition application and order Harvard Developments, the company that owns the property, to complete "at minimum" repairs necessary to stabilize the building and preserve its facade.
The Burns Hanley Building is a designated heritage building in the city's Victoria Park Heritage Conservation District.
That means the owner of the building must receive permission to demolish the structure.
Harvard applied for a permit to demolish the building in July 2021, citing its deteriorating condition.
Harvard's initial application did not have a proposed redevelopment plan, despite a city bylaw requiring one.
Instead, Harvard said its initial plan was to infill the basement of the demolished building, as it plans to acquire neighbouring properties, and then develop a mixed-use highrise building.
But the condition of the Burns Hanley Building is central to the dispute over its future.
A 2019 engineering report by JCK Engineering found that the building had undergone years of sustained water damage due to a damage roof and broken pipes.
The report recommended $200,000 in repairs that would have helped to stabilize the building.
But no repairs were carried out.