Could Vancouver zoo polar bear enclosure find new life as a Nordic spa?

A Vancouver architecture firm is proposing the former polar bear enclosure in Stanley Park could be reinvented as a new space.

The enclosure has sat vacant for 26 years since the attraction was closed but now TOAD (Tony Osborn Architecture + Design, Inc.) wants to convert the area to a Scandinavian-style sauna.

“Our team has been fascinated by this modern ruin for years now. We really wanted to find a way for visitors to Stanley Park to reoccupy this abandoned site without erasing its complicated history,” Tony Osborn, owner of TOAD, said in a release.

“It’s strange that this site, in the heart of Stanley Park, has been off-limits for almost three decades now,” Osborn said. “We’d like to see it opened to the public again as a Nordic-style sauna that is accessible by everyone.”

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The Stanley Park Zoo started to close in 1993 and animals were transferred to other facilities.

The last animal at the facility was Tuk, the 37-year-old polar bear who could not be moved due to concerns about his health. The Vancouver Parks Board made the decision to put him down in 1997 because his heart was failing.

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The site of the polar bear enclosure has remained empty despite various proposals over the years for its possible use.

Global News reached out to the Vancouver Aquarium for comment as it is the largest facility close by but the organization said it did not have anything to add at this time.

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“We’re hoping Vancouverites are excited about this idea. I mean, going to Stanley Park on a rainy winter afternoon for a relaxing soak surrounded by old cedars… It would be incredible. We need more facilities like this, because we have the perfect climate for them,” Egor Revenko from TOAD said in a statement.

The architecture firm has shared its proposal with the Vancouver Parks Board and is inviting anyone who is interested in the work to visit its website.