Organizations fighting to save old school in Mount Pleasant
Posted December 9, 2016 10:24 pm.
Last Updated December 9, 2016 10:32 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – The fate of an old school in Mount Pleasant will soon be decided by Vancouver city council.
Organizations that use the former Simon Fraser elementary annex on East 6th Avenue, just off of Quebec, are fighting for its future.
City planners are looking at increasing the density between Main Street and Quebec, between East 2nd and East 8th Avenues. That would require rezoning and considering options for the heritage building
One option is to demolish the two-story facility, which was built in 1929.
Council could also decide to retain it, but have it moved to a corner of the block it sits on.
“We are currently using the space with over 700 members. If the rezoning goes ahead, we don’t have an alternate location. It would stop us from providing our current services,” says Tuhien Trieu, an outreach coordinator at Love your Neighbour Club, one of three groups that provide services in the old school.
The club’s Hong Yan is not happy with the level of consultation so far.
“Since we learned of the city’s plans in October, we’ve been trying to reach out to them to have conversations with them. We haven’t been involved in the process at all.”
The Love your Neighbour Club, along with Light and Love Home and the Church of God in Vancouver, lease the building from the city, which bought the old school back in 1998. The groups have two more years left on the lease, but that lease can be broken with one year’s notice.
They’ve launched a petition to have the city allow them to stay in the current location.
An evaluation report will be presented to council this coming week. It is recommending the building be retained.
