WATCH ABOVE: Edmonton may soon say goodbye to a historic mansion in Glenora that has been abandoned for nearly a decade. Michel Boyer takes us on a tour of the home.
EDMONTON — A real estate developer has filed a request to demolish one of the city’s few remaining century-old mansions.
The Sylvancroft Mansion on Stony Plain Road was built in 1912 and used to belong to Edmonton mayor Harry Evans.
The 8,000-square foot Glenora home has been sitting empty for the better part of a decade and is in need of significant repairs.
“This house, in particular, is a rare example of a handful remaining of these large estates in the west part of Edmonton,” said David Johnston, heritage planner with the City of Edmonton.
“We really did not have many of these to begin with.”
The city and the developer have been trying to find a buyer for the mansion for about four years — but no one has stepped forward to make an offer.
A neighbour told Global News it would cost $1 million to purchase the property and an additional $2 million to make the home safe once again.
Multiple people in the neighbourhood said, since the home has been vacant, teenagers have been caught inside partying. There are concerns a fire could start one day and nearby homes could be damaged.
The City of Edmonton brought its case to the province, asking to have the home restored and declared a historic site. The city says the province denied that request.
The home sits at the end of Sylvancroft Lane. New modern homes are being built around the old mansion. Owners in nearby heritage homes say they will be sad to see the old one go.
“The daughter of Mayor Evans was born there and lived there until very recently,” said Ron McLeod. “There’s a lot of heritage to it.”
McLeod said he wishes someone stepped up sooner, before the home started to fall apart.
However, not all neighbours are on the same page.
One person told Global News it’s time for a fresh start on Sylvancroft Lane. They said the story of the building is memorable, but not the structure itself.
“After four years of trying to find a new chapter for the house, we have been unsuccessful in finding a solution for it and the community at Sylvancroft would like to see a resolution finally,” Beljan Development said in a statement.
“It’s unfortunately a house that is far too big and too costly to repair.”
The Heritage Planning Department will try to find someone to fix the old home, otherwise it will have no choice but to approve the permit to demolish.
Watch: Michel goes on a walk-through of the historical mansion with a local developer.
Watch: Will Sylvancroft mansion be torn down? Neighbours are split.
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