[kirjtc2]

And down she goes...I really don't care one way or the other, I thought it became somewhat of an eyesore over the past few years...

York House demolition approved
By MEREDITH O'HARA
o'hara.meredith@dailygleaner.com
Published Wednesday June 13th, 2007
Appeared on page A1

The congregation of Brunswick Street Baptist Church decided Tuesday night that York House, one of Fredericton's oldest buildings, will be demolished as part of its expansion plan.

There were about 240 members of the church in attendance. One-hundred and ninety-eight -- or 85 per cent -- voted in favour of tearing down the building. Seventy-five per cent was required for the motion to pass.

Demolition was the best option, said Paul Greene, spokesman for Brunswick Street Baptist Church.

"(York House) was built as a 19th-century school not a 21st-century church,'' said Greene. "The renovations would be absolutely huge.''

A multi-purpose building will be built in place of York House. It will house Sunday school classrooms, administration offices and a larger worship space.

York House has been unusable for the last few months because of the discovery of asbestos, PCBs and lead.

A 40-member steering committee was created almost a year ago to examine the church's options.

The committee found that it would need 30,000-sq. feet for the new structure.

"No matter how you worked out the numbers ... it always entrenched on York House," Greene said.

Other options would have seen York House sold, leased or renovated as part of the extension.

Liz Burge, president of Fredericton Heritage Trust, said the planned demolition is a disappointing piece of news.

"The loss of a landmark such as York House is a huge wake-up call to governments to improve heritage laws," she said late Tuesday night.

She wants the church to allow the public to view the plans for the new structure.

"This is a failure for Fredericton in respecting our past," said Burge.

Although the church owns the building, the general public doesn't want to see this building torn down, said Ward 10 Coun. Stephen Kelly.

"The sense from the comments I'm receiving is that Fredericton really doesn't want to see us lose this building," he said.

Despite approval, demolition won't take place soon, said Greene.

The recommended plan would add the new building directly to the side of Brunswick Street Baptist Church, a historic building in its own right.

York House, which is 114 years old, served many purposes, including housing Fredericton High School at one time.