The City of Prince George is moving forward with the demolition of the Prince George Hotel before hearing from a local realtor trying to save the 97-year-old building.
According to information released by B.C. Bid, bidding on the demolition contract opened Aug. 15 and closes on Thursday.
"It is expected that the project will be awarded in early September. Once awarded, demolition will take follow shortly after," city spokesman Mike Davis said in an e-mail.
On Aug. 9 The Citizen reported former Downtown Business Improvement Association president and city heritage commission member Kirk Gable is calling on the city to preserve the building. Gable is scheduled to present his argument to city council on Sept. 12.
But Davis said the goal is to have the building demolished before winter sets in.
"Once the demolition project commences, it is expected to take three months to complete," Davis said. "Demolition becomes more expensive when you move into winter months. As a result, beginning earlier allows for an overall project cost savings."
The city purchased the hotel in April, 2010 for $2.5 million from a group of investors. The investors had bought the building in January, 2010 from longtime owner/operator Ted Coole.
The city has applied to the B.C. Brownfield Renewal Funding Program for funding to cover the costs of site investigations and development of a remediation plan. The province has not announced which municipalities will receive funding under the program.
In October city staff reported the estimated cost of demolition was $600,000, plus $300,000 to $450,000 to remediate the site.
"If a total tendered amount is lower than $1 million dollars, it can be approved by the city manager," said Davis. "If it's over this amount, council approval is required."
Gable is out of town and could not be reached for comment as of press time.
However, earlier this month, Gable said the city has done a poor job of preserving its historic buildings. The Prince George Hotel was built in 1914 and was the premier hotel in the city for decades.
"Why would we want to spend a million bucks to haul it off to the landfill? For a million bucks I could do a pretty nice facelift on that building," Gable said. "When is there going to be a public discussion on it? It's our history and our heritage."
City heritage commission chairperson Harv Smerychynski said the commission hasn't taken an official position on the demolition of the building.
"The commission seems to be in favour of preserving wood buildings where it's practical and viable. If it's economically viable, there would have to be extensive community support to save it - and I haven't seen that," Smerychynski said. "What I would like to see is to be assured the city has taken a good, hard look at the alternatives for the building."
The city has owned the hotel for over 16 months and has been public with its intention to demolish it, he said.
"To my knowledge, other than Kirk, there hasn't been a groundswell of support for a 'Save the hotel' movement," Smerychynski said. "Sometimes old buildings have to move on."
