By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

City awaits province’s response on fate of Parsons House

Nov 26, 2018 | 8:16 PM

A memorandum of understanding crafted by The City of Red Deer to save Parsons House will now go to the province for review.

City council approved the terms of the MOU at its meeting on Monday, stating the province should maintain ownership of Parsons House or consider selling it to The City of Red Deer for $1.

The City would agree to oversee property management, leasing and operations, fund minor repairs and maintenance, and would occupy the house for public purposes or lease to a tenant that is acceptable to the province.

The province would fund all major maintenance and take all reasonable measures to address the structural integrity of Parsons House during construction of the Red Deer Justice Centre.

“It was one of the first medical clinics in Red Deer. Dr. Richard Parsons was one of the founders of healthcare in Red Deer, and he came in advance of the Red Deer Hospital being built,” said Councillor and history buff Michael Dawe when asked what it would mean to lose another historic house.

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Historic Snell House, which was located at the corner of 48 Avenue and Ross Street, was demolished in 1985 after the current Red Deer Courthouse was built adjacent to it.

“Parsons House is a landmark, and there are only maybe three or four houses left in Red Deer built with that original Red Deer brick. The house was determined by both the province and City to have significant historical value, hence it was designated by both. There are lots of examples all over Canada where we have historical buildings incorporated in an aesthetically pleasing way with a new building, so I can’t see why we can’t do it now.”

The brick Dawe refers to came from Red Deer’s Piper and Company Brickyard, which shut down in the early 1900s.

“It is important to know that The City supports the Red Deer Justice Centre moving forward. This is very important in terms of us building a safe community, particularly out of concern for delays in court cases and the impact that has on victims of crime and families waiting for court adjudications,” says Mayor Tara Veer.

Construction of the new justice centre should start sometime in 2019, according to the province.

“It was understood in good faith all along that Parsons House would be not only a protected local heritage asset, but it does have a provincial heritage designation on it, too,” Veer added.

Those designations were given in the early 1990s.

The City now awaits the province’s response to the proposed memorandum of understanding.