Nanaimo’s fire-damaged Departure Bay Activity Centre is set to be torn down after the city’s insurance company determined the building cannot be repaired.
The property has been unused since a fire in mid-March.
After the building is demolished, the city’s department of parks, recreation and culture will plan a community consultation process to look at options for the site, it said in a Monday statement.
Programs were either relocated or put on hold after the blaze.
“We can not get the building back, but we can plan for the best way to replace what we care about most,” Mayor Leonard Krog said.
No one was injured when the blaze broke out at the Wingrove Street building early in the morning.
It’s believed the fire began in the front alcove and spread from there.
Police have determined the fire was suspicious, saying there were no natural sources of accelerants nearby.
The gymnasium-style activity centre was used for more than 60 years, offering activities such as table tennis, dance and badminton.
