Grain elevator on Pacific will be torn down

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This article was published 24/02/2017 (3374 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The wooden grain elevator on Pacific Avenue is slated to come down this summer, according to its owners.

Downtown developers Robyn and Jason Sneath intend on using the property for parking.

While the city’s last wooden grain elevator might hold fond memories for some, its former ownership at Cargill determined the building to no longer being viable. 

Brandon Municipal Heritage committee co-chair Kris Desjarlais — a city council representative from the Rosser ward — said that the elevator hasn’t been a priority for the organization.

“We need parking downtown, and if they’re going to use it for parking all the power to them,” he said, adding that while it’s in the organization’s parameters to approach the owner to ask them if it’s worthy of a heritage designation, he doubts they would be interested.

Desjarlais said that he’s thankful that someone is investing in the property’s tear-down, which carries a significant cost he’s glad did not find its way for the municipality to take care of.

Robyn Sneath said that they got a good deal on the property because they have to pay for the building’s tear-down — a “big-sized investment” that she expects will take place by the end of May.

As of press time on Thursday, City of Brandon spokesperson Allison Collins said that there have been no demolition permits issued for the address in question, but that the turnaround for permits can be about 10 working days.

Although the elevator is coming down, Robyn said that they plan on keeping the nearby feed mill building for use as cold storage and as a base of operations for their construction company, Sneath Projects.

It makes sense that the elevator’s tear-down has been greeted with support, local history buff Bill McGuire said on Thursday.

A founding member of the Brandon General Museum and Archives, he said that Brandon has a long history of not paying enough mind to its rich history.

Still, he clarified that he doesn’t want to disparage the Sneath couple, whose dedication to preserving historic downtown buildings is worth commendation.

Their flagship property at 1031 Rosser Ave., where they own and operate Fraser Sneath Coffee and SKIN Clinics, is an impressive sight, he said, adding that historic stewardship of such a nature is no easy task, and carries a usually hefty financial cost, particularly with a building built in 1890.

“Private enterprise doesn’t have to do that kind of thing, do they?” he said.

Despite the circumstance, as an avid history enthusiast and model railroader, McGuire said that it’s still upsetting to hear of plans for Brandon’s last wooden grain elevator to come down.

“We call ourselves The Wheat City, and yet there’s nothing in the city to do with the processing of wheat,” he said.

At its peak in the late 1930s, there were about 19 such grain elevators lining Pacific Avenue, McGuire said, “a solid wall of grain elevators from First to 18th.”

We’ve been lucky to have our one remaining wooden grain elevator, McGuire said, explaining that this final elevator is of a particularly unique history that dates back to 1905.

It was one of a few elevators that the McCabe Grain Co. built along a stretch of a now-defunct Great Northern Railway branch line between St. John, N.D., and Brandon. It was originally located in the nearby community of Roseland, where it operated for about 30 years.

The building was sold and relocated to its present Pacific Avenue location in the fall of 1936, though McGuire said that he’s uncertain as to the specifics of the move due to spotty historical records.

Over the years, McGuire said that he advocated for the preservation of Brandon’s last historic grain elevator, but the cause failed to receive the support it needed.

There are some grants available for those interested in preserving or developing historic buildings, but it pales in comparison to what’s needed, he said, adding “Brandon gets its historic neglect from outside places.”

» tclarke@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @TylerClarkeMB