Community outraged at possible demolition of historic U of S Lutheran seminary building
CBC
A historic building at the University of Saskatchewan is on the brink of being demolished.
But groups in the city are outraged at the prospect of the landmark being torn down.
The Lutheran Theological Seminary overlooks the river at the north end of the campus. Built in 1968, it is listed on the university's internal heritage registry — meaning the school has recognized its historical significance.
The building is owned by the Lutheran Theological Seminary of Saskatoon but is managed by the university.
The university is looking to demolish it due to the building sitting vacant since 2020 and experiencing fires, vandalism and property neglect. The seminary moved to another campus location four years ago.
The proposed razing of the 56-year-old structure isn't sitting well with those invested in the history of Saskatoon.
The late modern building was designed by John Holliday Scott, a Saskatoon architect. He also designed the dental college and the law building.
A public meeting was held in November to discuss the prospect of demolishing the building, after the university received letters of protest from the community. The 91-year-old architect was there.
"I was really upset," Holliday Scott admitted. "I was disappointed because I thought the building was important to the university and thus to the province. I was sorry that they didn't make a greater effort to retain it."
At the meeting, a few groups expressed interest in taking over the space, but the university said none had the financial means to execute those plans.The school then began the process of seeking demolition proposals.
"I appreciate people's connection to buildings," Wade Epp, the associate vice president of campus operations said. "This building does not have a future use for the university and certainly financially the cost of bringing it back to present day standards is way too much."
Epp said the university will look through the tenders and evaluate the cost of demolishing the space after seeing all of the bids.
A major concern for the building were break-ins in recent years, during which fires broke out. Epp said this turned into a safety concern for the university.
"The fire inspector had determined that if the building could not be reoccupied or up to present-day building standards, then the course of action was to seek that the building be demolished," said Epp.
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