Scaffolding is holding up parts of the Gore buildings, lawyer says

Heritage lovers want to see the facades of all of the Gore buildings at 18 to 28 King St. E. saved as Wilson Blanchard builds apartments and retail space there. But an architect and a lawyer working on the project insist that's very close to being impossible. In fact, scaffolding is holding two of the facades in place.

David Premi of DPAI Architects told city hall's municipal heritage committee on Thursday that not only are there structural problems with 24 and 28 King St. E., but it's "not economically feasible" to try to save them.

And Tim Bullock, lawyer for developer Wilson Blanchard, said the two buildings are all but falling down.

"The scaffolding at 24 and 28 is there to hold it up," he told the committee.

Wilson Blanchard plans to build the Gore Block Apartments, a five-storey project encompassing the four key buildings along Gore Park. It will demolish all four buildings but leave the facades of two of them. It plans to build commercial space on the ground floors of the new buildings and 14 apartments above it.

Controversial process

The buildings have generated some controversy. The company bought them in 2013 and said then that they were too unsound to save. But critics questioned that, saying the company was demolishing historic buildings with no solid plans for what would go there.

• Wilson Blanchard plans apartments and retail for vacant Gore buildings

Wilson Blanchard evicted the existing commercial tenants in 2013 and seemed uncertain whether it would take up the city on more than $1 million in heritage grants to at least save the building facades.

In December 2013, fearing even the facades were coming down, council voted to have the buildings designated as heritage. Wilson Blanchard is still appealing that.

Committee members still wished Thursday that all the facades would be saved. Kathy Stacey said she'd lived in Europe, home of centuries-old buildings. Was Premi sure all four facades couldn't be saved?

But overall, there was little debate over what committee chair Alissa Denham-Robinson called "a good compromise."

The buildings are empty right now, and something has to go there, Denham-Robinson said. The developers have also put a lot of thought into the design.

"It's a good compromise, which is why, I think, you got that feel from the committee overall," she said.

Here are some other points Bullock and Premi made:

They hope to start later this year.

There are several bureaucratic hurdles to clear with the city, including a site plan. But Bullock says Wilson Blanchard wants to start work in 2016.

Nothing will be torn down until there's something to put in its place.

Premi said the developer won't obtain any demolition permits until it has a building permit in hand for the new five-storey development.

The new buildings will look a lot like the old ones.

In addition to the restored facades at 18 and 22 King St. E., Premi's team has designed 24 and 28 to resemble the rest of the street scape.