Barring a last minute infusion of enough money for an extensive renovation, the last remaining structure that was part of a Terrace Second World War army hospital complex is likely headed for demolition.
Popularly called the Kin Hut and owned by the city, the red-roofed, white-sided structure sits on its original location just north of the Heritage Park Museum close to the corner of Sparks Street and Halliwell Avenue. It's now used for city storage.
The question of its future surfaced when senior staffers recommended the city either spend $10,000 on a more detailed review of its condition and explore its heritage value or spend $110,000 to demolish it next year given its current condition.
A 2023 assessment presented to council Oct. 9, said any renovation work would have to start with placing it on a proper concrete foundation.
"Until a proper foundation is in place, further improvements to the exterior finishes, or any other improvements would be a waste of time and money due to the ongoing settling of the building," the assessment stated.
"Even after this work is completed, there is still a very old building that needs to be updated to be of use to the public," the assessment continued.
"All aspects of the building would be considered for improvement, including replacement of deteriorated floor components, interior finishes, building code updates, exterior finishes, new roof, etc. etc.
"It seems somewhat of a classic example that the intent was to save money or preserve the building only to have labour costs and finishing costs escalate beyond the cost of a new building."
Council members leaned toward demolition although councillor James Cordeiro wondered about its historical value.
"It's a temporary military building. It has no architectural significance. It's only significance to me is its age .... unless it was christened by Field Marshall Montgomery or something," he said.
Councillor Dave Gordon added to Cordeiro's comments saying a rough calculation of $600 per square foot for a 3,500 square foot building results in a possible renovation price tag of $2 million.
"If we're going to do a $2 million spend, I want to have a much more firm discussion about where our community needs are," he said.
Councillor Brian Downie raised the matter of an earlier Heritage Park Museum desire to expand its boundaries to take in the Kin Hut property and building.
"I'm thinking that it would be important that we, the city, participate with the museum to flesh out their plans," he said.
"We don't know whether Heritage Park really has a [renovation] project but they have indicated, given us some indications of their interest so I would not want to do something that kind of closes the door arbitrarily," Downie added.
Although Mayor Sean Bujtas acknowledged Downie's viewpoint, he questioned whether the museum has the kind of money needed to refurbish the structure.
"I don't think there's any harm to say to Heritage Park this is what we're planning to do, but I don't really see a way for them to take this building and actually utilize it because there's no funding to do that," he said.
Bujtas reminded council that any renovation plan of the museum would be accompanied by asking the city for financial help.
In the end, council passed a motion to place the $110,000 for the demolition in next year's tentative capital spending plan but to also invite Heritage Park to explain how it would bring the Kin Hut up to date.
Downie voted against the motion and asked that his vote be recorded.
The Kin Hut structure served as the mess hall for the personnel working at the 300-bed hospital complex which was built during the Second World War to handle casualties should the Japanese have been successful in landing on the north coast.
After the war it was converted into a psychiatric care home for men, becoming a significant local employer.
A plan to transfer patients to Vancouver and to demolish the buildings was thwarted by labour unions who successfully persuaded the provincial government of the day to replace the army buildings with present-day Terraceview Lodge, which opened in 1984.
