Winnipeg's Public Safety Building not worth saving: report

The demolition of Winnipeg'sPublic Safety Building and attached civic centre parkade is being recommended in acity-commissioned report that goes to a committee next week.

City officials paid$275,000for the report, which studied availableoptions for the 51-year-old structures adjacent to City Hall.

• Public Safety Building study would cost $275K
• What will Winnipeg do with the old Public Safety Building?

One of the options city officials consideredwasspending millions to refurbish the PSB tohousea variety of other city departments once thepolice service abandons it for its new headquarters on Graham Avenue.

However, the reportsays arefurbishmentwould be cost-prohibitive.

"The full evaluation of options that included a restoration of the PSB against the applied criteria has determined that the restoration of the building would not better meet the needs of the city, would not better contribute to downtown revitalization priorities, and would not provide value above and beyond the other alternatives," the report states.

"These limitations, along with an associated high cost of restoration combine to make a strong case in favor of demolition."

The building and parkade wereconstructedin 1965in thebrutalist styleof modernismand clad inTyndall limestone. But the years of freezing and thawing in Winnipeg have taken their toll.

Since 2006, a plywood-covered walkway has lined the street outside the building atWilliam Avenue and King Street, to protect pedestrians from the risk oflimestone cladding falling from the facade.

The parking garage has been closed since August 2012afterengineering reportsraised structural concerns with the facility.

• Winnipeg closes parkade due to structural concerns

Although the PSB has "certain architectural and historical significance" its current state and thelimitations of the exterior cladding make it unsuitable for a significant and costly restoration project, the report states.

The design presents a number of challenges, including:

• The entrance is not at street level and presents accessibility challenges.
• The main floor is not barrier-free which limits its potential uses.
• The existing column structure limits the development of underground parking.
• It will be financially impractical to retain the Tyndallstone cladding.

The report also presents three options to re-using the space once the PSB and parkade and removed. They include:

• Large public space/private development

This option recommends the city create apublic space onportions of the land with surplus land sold toa private sector developer.

• Civic campus

This option recommends the development of a small public space, the construction of a new building for the Planning, Property and Development Department (PPD), the construction of a small, 95-stall parking structure with office space for the Winnipeg Parking Authority (WPA), and the sale of surplus land.

• Large parking structure

This option recommendsthe development of a small public space, the construction of a 520-stall parking structure with office space at grade for WPA, and the sale of surplus land.

The reportwillbe presented to the city'sStanding Policy Committee on Property and Development, Heritage and Downtown Development next Tuesday.