The Manie Opera Society building is set for demolition after a decision from city council on May 30. The owner of it and the parcel where the Bow On Tong used to sit requested a Heritage Intervention Approval from the city in order to demolish it.
The owner showed an engineer report recommending demolition due to fire and water damage from the Bow On Tong fire and, according to the city, the owner’s lack of financial resources to stabilize the building led to the recommendation to tear it down.
After a lengthy discussion it was decided to provide approval two weeks after the meeting in order to give members of the Chinese community in the city a chance to talk with the owner to see if there are options for saving the historic Chinatown site.
READ MORE: Fire at Bow On Tong huge loss for the community: historical society
Ying Zheng is vice president of the Southern Alberta Chinese Association and board member of the Chinese Culture Society. She said she only learned about the demolition plan the day before the council meeting and she believes it is important to preserve the history of Chinatown, as well as the province and city.
“One word accurately expresses my feelings — I feel very helpless and we all feel very helpless because we feel something is not done fairly and unfortunately it happened,” she said. “I also come out of the meeting with some optimism because I think we do have a forward looking, friendly council. Some of them are very caring about the history of Lethbridge.”
She said two weeks is not enough time, but it can give a chance to save the building. “Every time we pass those two buildings we are very proud of the plaques saying historic building designated by the city, designated by the province and we are very happy, we are very proud.”
Councillor Rajko Dodic spoke against putting off the approval, citing concerns about liability.
“The liability to the city is great in my opinion if today we don’t give the innocent owner the opportunity to do with her property as a normal property owner would be able to do,” Dodic said. He pointed out the fire at the Bow On Tong was caused by a trespasser and the owner was not responsible for it, adding there is risk to the city if the request is turned down.
The building is also a Provincial Historic Resource and approval from the province for the demolition was given on April 27. The heritage Intervention Approval will be effective on June 13, meaning the building can be demolished.