Section of historic building demolished

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This article was published 13/01/2025 (440 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The City of Brandon has demolished Building 30, a section of the historic McKenzie Seeds building, due to safety concerns stemming from severe structural issues.

The demolition followed attempts to engage with the property owner, Brandon Fresh Farm (BFF), which went unanswered, a city spokesperson said.

The decision was unavoidable after a floor collapse within the building revealed critical structural failures, the city’s building safety manager Murray Fischer told the Sun.

Major structural components within the building had failed, which had led to a floor collapse within the building, making it untenable and a major concern for a potential full structural collapse,” Fischer said in an email on Friday.

BFF president Adam Morand acknowledged the building’s hazardous condition and the city’s decision to demolish it.

“We were notified that Building 30 was a safety hazard, and everyone agreed,” he said. “Without funding for our project, there was no funding for demolition, or renovations or anything else so the city proceeded to do the demolition on Building 30 on their own and the costs are to be added to the property taxes. That was all discussed back in October.”

However, he expressed frustration with the broader challenges entrepreneurs face in pursuing innovative projects in Canada.

“We tried to build something in Brandon, but there’s very little support for people to try new things,” Morand said.

He highlighted a shortage of entrepreneurs in Canada — an estimated 121,000 — as a systemic problem exacerbated by a damaged ecosystem for innovation.

“The McKenzie Seeds building is the tip of a very large iceberg,” he said, adding that it is unlikely anyone else will step in to complete the redevelopment project.

The final expense of the demolition is yet to be determined, Fischer explained.

“Ownership remains with the current owner, and we have no proposals in progress for the site,” he said.

The McKenzie Seeds building is a prominent part of Brandon’s heritage, with some sections slated for redevelopment into studio apartments.

The building has an interesting history.

According to the Manitoba Historical Society, garden seed distributor A.E. McKenzie and Company moved into the seven-storey building in 1910.

After the provincial government eventually acquired the company’s shares from its founder, the A.E. McKenzie Seeds Company operated as a wholly owned Crown corporation until December 1994, when it was sold to the largest non-retail, mail-order company in Canada. In 1996, this building gained provincial recognition as a designated historic site, marked by a plaque unveiled by the Manitoba Heritage Council on its east-facing exterior.

“Subsequently, in 2002, the management group took ownership of the company, and it changed hands again when it was sold to a Norwegian firm four years later,” the historical society website states.

“In December 2008, A.E. McKenzie & Company moved to a new, single-storey building a few blocks away. The original building was then purchased by developers from British Columbia.”

By 2011, the society stated, there were ambitious plans to renovate the building, to be named McKenzie Towers, and transform it into 93 condo units. However, by early 2013, the project encountered difficulties, leading to a change in plans. The focus shifted toward developing the building into rental apartments. Since 2016, the historic structure has stood vacant, awaiting its next chapter.

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