City of St. John’s and the owner of Richmond Hill Cottage, Wrightland Development Corp, (WDC) has expired, the city noted in a news release.
The MOU was signed between the city and the property owner in March 2016 in an attempt to restore the historical building on Shaw Street.
The city took on a facilitator role for discussions between potential purchasers and the property owner, but had no authority to accept an offer.
“The MOU was a positive step towards heritage preservation in the City of St. John’s,” Coun. Dave Lane said in a news release.
A committee was struck with members of the Built Heritage Experts Panel to promote the sale of Richmond Cottage locally, nationally and internationally.
There were multiple inquires on the property, but an offer was not accepted.
“This agreement was a new approach towards how the city engages with developers, we made significant effort to find an owner willing to restore the property,” Lane said. "While we weren't able to save the property, strides have been made to prevent this sort of situation from happening again. Developers, if granted development permits on condition of restoration, will now be required to restore the property before beginning other construction."
Currently there are 147 designated heritage buildings. Nine properties have been officially designated in 2017.
