Supporters of preserving Qualicum Beach’s historic St. Andrew’s Lodge demonstrated outside the structure on Monday, hoping to see it granted a reprieve from demolition.
The current plan is to retain some elements.
Anne Skipsey said she and others were at the waterfront site before 7 a.m. to have their voices heard about the lodge, which has been in place since 1938.
“It was designed and built by a gentleman named Sam Little and he was a naval architect,” Skipsey said. “He also designed a number of buildings in Qualicum Beach, throughout the area.
“He also designed our town crest.”
She said the lodge served as tourist accommodation for 80 years. There were also cottages, which have since been removed.
“People came back year after year, families came for decades.”
The lodge didn’t change same much over time, Skipsey said.
“When you step into the lodge it’s like going into a time capsule,” she said. “It’s a gift, it’s a treasure.”
Skipsey, a former town councillor, said the current council agreed to do a lengthy consultation about the lodge. The first phase saw 76 per cent of people supporting preservation of the lodge, which changed to 57 per cent saying no to preservation in the second phase when it became evident there could significant cost involved to fix it up.
But an expected phase three never happened, Shipsey said, and a decision was made by council Oct. 14 to move forward with demolition or relocation of the lodge.
“People have been blindsided by this decision of council.”
The town purchased the site in 2018 for $3.4-million, something that Skipsey said led people to believe the lodge would be saved.
But Qualicum Beach Coun. Scott Harrison said there have been some issues with the lodge’s property, like the fact it is on a flood plain.
He also pointed to the results of the second phase of the consultation, including the 44 per cent of people who said they would like the lodge to be retained but wasn’t in their top 10 priorities for amenities.
“But it’s still some people, so it was worth following up on,” Harrison said.
That led to a process starting this past June in which people were asked if they wanted to relocate the lodge, he said.
“We would’ve basically given people the building.”
He said people associated with Monday’s rally looked at grant opportunities for the lodge, but were faced with issues like renovation costs.
