REGINA -- The Cook Residence was saved from the bulldozer during Monday night’s city council meeting.
The Albert Street home, which was built in 1929, has been a topic of debate at council for the last year, as a developer pushed to see the building demolished to make way for a new multi-family facility.
On Monday, council received a recommendation from administration after a review by the Saskatchewan Heritage Foundation Review Board to undertake an invasive home inspection, at a cost of $5,000 to taxpayers, to determine the condition of the home.
Council decided against that recommendation and decided instead to designate the home as a heritage site.
“It’s a difficult decision,” Mayor Michael Fougere said after the meeting. “The recommendation from administration took us down one path and council felt narrowly in its voting that no, this is a heritage property and we’re going to designate it that way.”
Deirdre Malone, the granddaughter of Robert Cook, a representative for Lyn Goldman, who has offered to purchase the home, and Ross Keith with Nicor Realty all spoke in favour of the 90-year-old house being designated a heritage property.
Carmen Lien, who owns the home at 3160 Albert St. with Adriana Gourgais, also pleaded his case to council to no avail.
The motion to designate the Cook Residence as a heritage property passed 6-5.
