Readers Write: October 2014

City Council has received a Building Permit Application for 520 Niagara Street.  It is registered on the Heritage Register as worthy of preservation; however the owners have also made application for demolition. City staff will inspect and assess the buildings heritage worth, though such applications for demolition are unlikely to be refused. 

You know the place. That 1939 brick Sunday School which adds so much to the charm of the Medana and Niagara intersection: designed by Percy Leonard James, one of the most respected architects in pre-war Victoria; built by contractors Trerise & Williams for $6000;  paid for and donated to the Anglican Synod of BC by a grateful anonymous parishioner, “for the advancement of Christ’s Kingdom among young people”. 

The Sunday School was set on a concrete foundation and built to last. The bricks were laid in Old English Bond pattern, decorative, unique for Victoria, and very strong.  Restoration funds, if necessary, can be applied for.

In the past 75 years, Cathedral School as it came to be called, was used as Sunday School until 1975; home for James Bay Brownies and Girl Guides;  leased to the Department of Human Resources; known in 1982 as the Renaissance School; and currently home for 32 daycare spaces.  Over the years, it is a model for re-purposing.

The ‘best price’’ for sale purposes, which is the owner’s stated intent, are in the two lots the building straddles. They have every right to sell, but why dear Diocese, bulldoze.

The question this month: There must be countless examples of churches being ‘re-purposed.’  A quick google suggests many creative uses, such as condos, dance studios, day-cares, and some amazing single family dwellings.  Please send your suggestions to:

synod@bc.anglican.ca or write to The Anglican Synod, 900 Vancouver St. Victoria, V8V 3V7, or phone 250-386-4013.