A plea from an Albion mother and a request from the heritage commission won’t be enough to save Albion hall from a wrecking crew next month.
The old building on 240th Street, just off Lougheed Highway, will be torn down early in April.
Under a deal worked out with the Albion Community Association, which owned and operated the hall, the District of Maple Ridge takes possession of the building on March 31.
Soon after, “the building will come down and be cleaned up,” parks and recreation general manager Kelly Swift said last week.
“The hall is in poor condition. It would be a significant cost to bring it up to standards that a municipality would meet.”
Council backed up that decision Monday, despite a request from Coun. Craig Speirs for a second look.
He said the building hasn’t had a thorough inspection and isn’t in that bad of condition.
“I don’t see what the rush is. It’s an old building. It has lots of history. I think we should have a very close look at repurposing this building.” It would be disrespectful to knock it down at this point, he added.
Speirs is council liaison to the community heritage commission, which also has asked for a heritage consultant to assess the building and that the public be consulted, before demolition is considered.
But Speirs was in a minority, with the rest of council saying it would cost too much to repair the building.
“I think it’s just throwing good money after bad,” said Coun. Al Hogarth.
He said the building could require costly seismic, electrical and mechanical upgrades.
“I’m absolutely not in favour of putting any money into this, whatsoever,” said Coun. Michael Morden.
“We did a full exploration of this,” added Coun. Cheryl Ashlie.
There was “a complete conversation”, in which all aspects of repairing the building were reviewed, she added.
“Trying to renovate old stuff, you have no idea what you’re getting into,” added Mayor Ernie Daykin.
The hall was built in 1923 by volunteers. It was never intended to last this long, said Swift.
A district inspection last year found the hall would need extensive repairs – bat guano would have to be removed from the attic, washrooms upgraded, wheelchair accessibility would have to be provided, as well as structural improvements made. Costs for that could exceed $100,000.
“In my mind, I don’t think it’s a good use of $100,000,” Swift said.
“It’s really at the end of its life.
“There are no immediate plans for the property itself.”
Under the agreement worked out between the community association and the municipality, Maple Ridge will set aside, in cash, the market value of the building and the lot ($315,500) and apply that (less demolition costs) towards a new Albion hall, whenever and wherever that’s built.
That likely won’t cover all of the costs for a new hall, but it will pay part of the project and help get it underway, once the implementation schedule has been set for the new parks master plan.
“It gives a big leg up to a future project,” Swift said.
One possibility is that a new community hall could be built in Albion flats, currently the subject of an area-planning process.
Initial plans for that include a recreation facility just west of the townhomes on the west side of 240th Street. That area could be considered as serving the Albion residential area. But those details all would have to be worked out, after the plan is approved.
“So there may be an opportunity there,” Swift said.
Albion resident Elizabeth Taylor was surprised to hear about the hall’s imminent demise.
Her daughter takes lessons at the hall with the Stewart School of Irish Dance, which has been told it has to leave at the end of the month.
“That’s terrible. That’s appalling,” and it was done without any consultation with the neighbourhood, Taylor said. She’s been trying to find out what’s happening with the building since September.
Parks and rec staff are looking for a new location for the dance school.
She pointed out that councillors previously said the public would be consulted once the district took possession.
“It’s sad and nobody even knows and it will just be gone and I’ll be sitting in the village of the damned. It’s not Country Lane.”
One option she suggested would be for the district to just lease out the building. But that still would require upgrades.
Taylor, who ran for Maple Ridge council last election, has lived in Albion for a decade and says the residential area of small-lot homes at 240th Street and 102nd Avenue is in a constant state of upheaval. She wants to know when and where that replacement hall will be built.
Apart from the coffee bar on 102nd Avenue, “there are no services, there’s no access. If anything, it’s getting worse.”
Construction of the concrete median in the middle of Lougheed Highway has worsened traffic at the 240th Street intersection because vehicles no longer can turn left directly into Bruce’s Country Market.
“I just feel it’s terrible living in Albion when all these things are piling up. For the taxes I pay, for 10 years I have dealt with roads being ripped up every year.”
With motorists trying to get onto the Lougheed Highway and drop their kids off at Albion elementary, “the whole block is a giant traffic jam every morning.”