The following article appeared in the September 30 edition of the Guelph Mercury:
Two city-owned buildings on upper Wyndham Street owned will finally be flattened by mid-February and turned into a parking lot.
City of Guelph manager of downtown renewal Ian Panabaker said bids on demolition of the two buildings closed Tuesday.
A plan has been in place for several months to turn the two large buildings into a 45-space parking lot until if and when the space is needed to make room for a new proposed library.
That plan was put on hold when it was discovered rare chimney swift birds were using the building as a summer home.
“We worked out a solution with the Grand River Conservation Area and now we’re ready to proceed with the demolition,” said Jim Stokes, manager of realty services for the City of Guelph.
“There’s an old smokestack at Goldie Mill Park. It’s capped but we’re going to remove the cap and the birds can hopefully use that,” Stokes said.
The chimney swifts migrate in September, so demolition of the two Wyndham Street buildings will begin in October, first internally, then externally, said Stokes. The 45 parking spaces should be open by mid-February, first as gravel-based lot, then eventually an asphalt one.
Plans for a new library in the area, the reason the city bought the two buildings, are currently on hold.
The city still has to purchase two other buildings on the west side of Wyndham on either side of the future parking lot, as well as some property behind the post office, to make way for a library. But those plans, like the library itself, are on hold.
The two buildings have sat somewhat derelict in appearance for a year.
“We definitely want to get moving on this,” said Ward 2 Coun. Ian Findlay, but we also want to be respectful of the needs of a threatened species.”
Stokes said it was cost prohibitive to upgrade the two buildings for use for what could only be a temporary period of time.
“And we can certainly use the extra parking spaces,” Stokes said.