OTTAWA – The demolition of a Saskatoon building has been named one of the worst losses of a heritage building in 2015 by a Canadian organization. The Heritage Canada Foundation released worst losses list on Tuesday.
The demolition of the Farnam Block was one of three buildings on the list. The others were the Etzio Building in Edmonton and Stollery’s Building in Toronto.
READ MORE: Demolition continues on Farnam Block in Saskatoon
The organization said although the Farnam Block was on the Saskatoon’s heritage inventory, it had not been designated.
The building, which once housed Lydia’s Pub, was purchased by Roger Kiva and Dean Potapinski. They said they looked at options to preserve the building but it would have been too costly.
Restoring the facade alone would have cost over $700,000.
A last-ditch effort by a Saskatoon group to save the building fell short.
Kiva and Potapinski plan to construct a new building with retail and business space and possibly residential units.
The Heritage Canada Foundation is a national charity devoted to saving historic places and promoting the care and wise use of Canada’s historic environment.
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