During the Monday evening (Feb. 22) council meeting, District Council passed a resolution denying a stay demolition for the Hope Station House.
Though a number of councillors were conflicted for several reasons, the council was unanimous in their decision.
“I know it’s been very emotional for a lot of us who have worked on the building in the past,” Mayor Peter Robb said.
When the agenda was published the previous Friday, it was not immediately clear whether or not the district would decide anything during the last meeting of the month.
Janet Wort of the Coalition for the Preservation of the Hope Station House presented before District Council as a delegation during its Feb. 22 meeting, presenting the coalition’s most recent findings in the effort to save the historic building and to ask for more time to save the Station House.
RELATED: No final decision yet on Station House demolition stay request
During Monday’s meeting, the coalition specifically asked for a one-month delay in awarding the Station House demolition contract. During the Feb. 8 meeting two weeks prior, the coalition for a six-month stay of demolition for the landmark building. The district did not make a final decision on the stay of demolition during the Feb. 8 meeting.
Once a community centre of sort, the Station House currently sits on Old Hope Princeton Way, where it has sat vacant for a number of years. Due to a court settlement between the District of Hope and the province following an important oversight on the province’s part, the building is scheduled to be demolished this spring.
According to the agreement between B.C. and Hope, the building must be off the property by May 31. The tentative demolition deadline is set for April 9.
RELATED: Hope Council preview for Feb. 22 meeting
As of Sunday, Feb. 21, the coalition gathered 2,105 signatures for the petition to save the Station House and 60 letters of support from community members and organizations across the province.
Wort said the Station House is one of two remaining community heritage buildings and the last of three train stations once in Hope. By having the Station House restored, Hope could benefit from heritage and local history tourism, thereby potentially boosting the economy, particularly among the history-loving boomer demographic, Wort said.
The Coalition for the Preservation of the Hope Station House consists of 13 members.
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