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The University of Saskatchewan has submitted a request for proposal for demolition of two buildings on its Saskatoon campus, one being the former Lutheran Theological Seminary.
The building, at 113 Seminary Crescent, has been vacant since 2020, and has been vandalized and trespassed upon ever since. The seminary moved to a location in St. Andrew’s College building four years ago.
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“For the last four years, those buildings have been vacant. Due to not having a future university use for those buildings, and increased concerns for safety due to unauthorized access, it was felt that moving forward with a request for proposal to demolish was the best way forward,” explained Wade Epp, the associate vice president of campus operations.
The former seminary is a Brutalist modern structure designed by John Holliday Scott, and was completed in 1968. Brutalist buildings showcase building materials and structural elements over decorative design.
The Saskatoon Heritage Society is advocating for its rehabilitation, and hope the building can be repurposed instead of demolished.
“This has a lot of validity as a heritage building, and the hope is that the university, before they issue a ticket for demolition, that they really consider what the other potential adaptive reuses could be for that building,” said Heritage Society president Lenore Swystun.
After a collection of letters were sent to protest the potential demolition of the property, the university held a consultative meeting on Nov. 20.
Swystun attended the meeting, along with other members of the community.
“There was a lot of hope in that room, and a lot of excitement,” recalled Swystun.
“There could be the potential for incorporating (the building) into a new reconfigured campus that also includes the new Polytech build, the discussion around an urban park, then you have this beautiful building!”
Cost of renovation would be $26 million
But the price tag for renovating the seminary building is steep.
“We’ve looked at high-level estimates to bring those buildings back into a state of repair,” said Epp.
“We were estimating at least $26 million to bring (the seminary building) to present day operations and code.”
But Swystun pointed out that demolishing the buildings would not come cheap, either.
“It’s also a significant cost — in the millions — to demolish the building, as well,” she said.
“You have to start to look at what is the balance of interest, in terms of keeping something that’s already built structurally-sound that either way would need to have its systems upgraded, versus taking it down and building something new.”
The university is open to engaging with groups interested in the seminary building.
“We’ve heard from folks that are concerned, and while we’re running that RFP (Request for Proposal) for demolition, we are looking at options … other ideas that would be viable for those buildings” said Epp.
“This is about saying to the university, there are some alternative options to just demolition, because you might find out it can bring additional value to the university campus, and to the wider community,” said Swystun.
“There’s a lot of combinations of interest, including housing spaces for students and otherwise. So I think it’s a matter of bringing people to the table and seeing what could happen.”
The the RFP on the demolition closes on Dec. 6, and Epp said requests to save the building will be evaluated following that, with a decision made in the spring.
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