Richmond Cottage: Clock ticking on historic St. John's property

Time is running out on Richmond Cottage.

The current owners of the St. John's heritage property, built in 1848, will be allowed to demolish it if a buyer doesn't come forward by May 1, under an agreement reached last year between the city and property owners Wrightland Development Corporation.

With just over two months to go before the deadline, potential buyers haven't shown much interest in the property, says Paul Fowler, co-owner of Wrightland and the listing agent for the property.

15 viewings of property, no offers

"There's been about, I would estimate, 15 viewings of the property, in the time that it's been listed," Fowler told CBC. None of those viewings translated into offers or anyone asking Fowler for more information about the property.

St. John's city councillor Dave Lane, who chairs a city committee overseeing Richmond Cottage, said he believes there's more interest out there than has come forward so far.

"I think that anyone who tells you there isn't interest probably isn't gauging interest correctly," said Lane.

"If you said, is there someone who's waking in with a cheque in their hand? That hasn't happened," he said.

"However, there are people who are very interested in certainly preserving the building. Definitely there are a lot of people who just want to see this building saved and don'[t have the resources or capacity to renovate or to save the building."

Jerry Dick, executive director of the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador, told CBC he's not sure Wrightland is "overly keen" to sell, as it has other plans for the land if a buyer doesn't come forward. Dick said that would be a loss for St. John's heritage.

"It's of great concern, because we can see how vulnerable a lot of these significant buildings are," he said, pointing to recent demolitions of other heritage properties in the city. "We could find ourselves in a situation where we really have very few of these buildings left."

Cleanup cost influenced decision

But Fowler notes Richmond Cottage sat on the market for 10 years before Wrightland bought it.

"The extent or scope of work that's required can be considered fairly significant, and you're dealing with a property that's almost 8,000 square feet," he said.

"So, to renovate a building of that size, and to do it in a manner where there's an integrity in the final product, from energy efficiency and finishing materials and what have you, it's a costly project to undertake."

The scope of renovations is one thing, and there's also mould on the property — with an estimated $69,000 cost to clean up.

It was the cost of renovation that led Wrightland to abandon its original plan to renovate the property into two tonwhouses because the company said the house's structure isn't salvageable.

Instead, Wrightland proposed tearing down the structure and rebuilding it as a $2.4-million heritage showpiece among the 12 lots of McLea Place, off old Topsail Road. The City of St. John's rejected that proposal, eventually leading to last year's agreement.

Wrightland not the bad guy, says co-owner

Fowler says media coverage has left the impression of Wrightland as the villain, which isn't true, he said.

"Wrightland were always committed, we were always committed to redeveloping Richmond Cottage," he said. "It became a question of how the property should be undertaken."

Fowler said the Richmond Cottage saga should be part of an overall heritage debate: Must it be just about preservation, or is there room for replication? He notes the current building isn't the original structure, as a new roof was put on in the 1930s.

"If we have to remove so much of the existing [structure] to rebuild it new, then it would be best to rebuild Richmond Cottage new completely, from a new foundation," he said. "And that was rejected."

Now, he said, instead of a $2.4-million heritage-style home, Wrightland plans to put new homes on the lot.