Council approves University of Guelph's plan to demolish greenhouse

Guelph councillors have given the University of Guelph the go-ahead to demolish a historic greenhouse on its campus.

Tuesday night's vote, which was unanimous, followed feedback from community members who voiced their opposition to the destruction of the Rutherford Conservatory.

The building, at 37 Christie Lane, was permanently closed in Nov. 2023 due to wood rot which “considerably weakened the structure.” The university said they commissioned independent structural engineering reports which determined the structure was unsafe. Restoration was pegged at $5 million, with another $200,000 to $250,000 required each year for maintenance.

The university asked council to approve their plan to tear down the conservatory and replace it with a commemorative garden.

Closed sign at the DM Rutherford Family Conservatory at the University of Guelph on Dec. 10, 2024. (Dave Pettitt/CTV News)

Before giving it the green light, city councillors asked that “salvageable steel elements” be listed as “heritage attributes.”

There was also one more request.

“[They] added a motion encouraging the university to ‘retain to the best of their ability as much of the salvaged material from 37 Christie Lane and to include and incorporate both limestone and glass into the redeveloped commemorative garden,’” Krista Walkey, the city’s general manager for planning and building services, explained in an email to CTV News.

According to the school’s website, the proposed garden seeks to preserve “the spirit of the conservatory by maintaining a public space that both highlights the university’s rich contribution to horticulture” while also remaining accessible to the community.

History of the greenhouse

The pagoda-style glass structure was originally built in 1930 for the Ontario Agricultural College.

According to U of G’s website, the “header house served as the entrance into a complex of working greenhouses that supported teaching and learning in the study of floriculture.”

When the other greenhouses were torn down in the late 1980s and early 1990s, they left the conservatory as an “ornamental structure for public enjoyment.”

The DM Rutherford Family Conservatory at the University of Guelph on Dec. 10, 2024. (Dave Pettitt/CTV News)

The university said the building required significant repairs over its 94-year history. The first time was in the 1960s and then again in 1998, when most of its wood and glass were replaced.

The greenhouse was renamed after Donald M. Rutherford, a University of Guelph alum, who helped facilitate most of the recent renovations.

The school said the wood rot wasn’t surprising, but rather inevitable due to the temperature fluctuations between the inside and outside of the structure.

Community reaction

Ken Yee Chew, a Guelph councillor and University of Guelph alumnus who was at Tuesday’s meeting, said the process could offer learning opportunities for incoming students.

"This would be a really big generational project for the [Ontario Agricultural College] community and for the design school as well,” he explained. “This is a first-hand learning experience that students would be able to participate in. Heritage shouldn't just be preserved for the sake of aesthetics."

The DM Rutherford Family Conservatory at the University of Guelph on Dec. 10, 2024. (Dave Pettitt/CTV News)

Some residents, however, hoped the councillors would have a change of heart.

More than 1,400 people signed a petition to save the Rutherford Conservatory before Tuesday’s meeting.

“It speaks to our heritage as the Ontario Agricultural College,” petition organizer Aimée Puthon explained. “I think it’s emblematic of our roots as a university, as a college, which is now a university [that] is globally recognized. This is really important, it’s irreplaceable and it’s a historic asset.”

She stressed its importance to the community.

“It’s really and truly the crown jewel,” Puthon said.

Heritage Guelph also opposed the school’s plan.

"Fundamentally, we do not support demolition or deconstruction," said Alexandre Krucker. "We urge council to consider providing more time for public input for the potential alternative solutions that might arise from the public."

They asked that a final decision be delayed until a design for the commemorative structure is provided.

Advocates, like Puthon, agreed with Heritage Guelph’s request.

“The proposal by the university to salvage parts of the skeleton, such as metal, does nothing to preserve the living history,” she said. “Restore it. It has seen better days. It didn't get like this overnight. We really need some stewardship and some leadership for such an architectural piece like this.” 

No further details have been shared about the demolition or timeline for the project.