Mayor Brian Bowman wants Winnipeg's Public Safety Building bulldozed

Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman's opinionon the future of the the Public Safety Building is unequivocal.

"My position is clearI'd like to see it bulldozed," he told reporters on Wednesday.

"What we've been advised is it's essentially beyond repair. The coststhat we would have to incur in order to save itis one that I don't favour."

Bowman said the city has a chancetouse the space for better purposes "for the public."

"There is a tremendous opportunity to really revitalize an area of the city that could use a little TLC."

The city'spropertyand development committee decided Tuesday to hold off making adecisionabout the future of the PSB,the old police headquarters, for at least a month. The committee was reviewing a report that recommends its demolition.

Councillorsoptedinstead toget opinions on the building'sheritage value.

Thepolice are scheduled to be completely moved out of the PSB byJuly, leaving it vacant and in need of costly repairs.

The city spent $275,000to commission thereport, which consideredoptions for the 51-year-old PSB and its attached parkade, across King Street from city hall.

The report, which went to thepropertyand development committee on Tuesday,suggests three options all of which call for thePSB andparkadeto be razed. Preserving or renovating the building would be cost prohibitive and the landcould instead be usedto create a smallpublic space, the report states.

• Winnipeg's Public Safety Building not worth saving: report

Bowman said he respects the committee's decision to examine the PSB for any heritage value but agrees with the report's findings.

"I understand that the committee has delayed things a little bit, and I think that's fine," he said.

Thebuilding,clad inTyndalllimestoneand designedin thebrutaliststyleof modernism,was constructedin 1965. But years of freezing and thawing in Winnipeg have taken their toll.

The Public Safety Building has become unsafe.

Since 2006, a plywood-covered walkway has lined the street outside the building atWilliam Avenue and King Street, to protect pedestrians from the risk oflimestone cladding falling from the facade.

The parkade has been closed since August 2012afterengineering reportsraised structural concerns about the facility.

• Winnipeg closes parkade due to structural concerns

The three recommended options for the PSB landare:

• Large public space/private development

This option recommends the city create apublic space onportions of the land with surplus land sold toa private-sector developer.

• Civic campus

This option recommends the development of a small public space, the construction of a new building for the planning, property and development department, the construction of a small, 95-stall parking structure with office space for the Winnipeg Parking Authority and the sale of surplus land.

• Large parking structure

This option recommendsthe development of a small public space, the construction of a 520-stall parking structure with office space at grade level for the parking authorityand the sale of surplus land.