Future of iconic Stone Barn still up in the air

By Halyna Mihalik

The future of the University of Saskatchewan’s Stone Barn remains unclear.

The historic landmark could be repurposed by the university, but many students and staff have become quite attached to the barn.

“There are very many beautiful and functional barns in the province,” said former U of S architect Colin Tennent. “But this is by far the most majestic of all of them.”

Since the barn has been out of use since 2010, the university decided to start generating ideas of what could possibly be used for the space.

An online survey was conducted in order to allow anyone who wanted an outlet to express their ideas, comments or concerns on the matter.

A public meeting was also hosted last week, with more than 50 people showing up. The meeting was a place for discussion and for people to bounce ideas for the barn off one another.

“The sky is the limit in terms of ideas and we’ll percolate on that and make some recommendations that hopefully the university can act on,” said Tennent.

Tennent explained that all the plans ultimately come down to how much they will cost. If it is too pricey to make some of these ideas come to life, that will be discussed.

Nothing has been determined yet, as the university wants to continue having meetings and making the fate of the barn an open and honest conversation.