Kitchener council voted against the heritage group’s proposal for the site of the Sears building at Fairview Park Mall Monday evening.
Council instead voted in favour of allowing the 60 day notice period to lapse, so demolition and the proposed new development can continue.
Since Sears closed its location at Fairview Park Mall, the fate of the building has been the subject of debate.
The 140,000 square foot building closed in early 2018.
The Cadillac Fairview Group, which owns the mall, will have to work with city staff to preserve portions of the Sears building.
“We have a once in a 50 year opportunity to redevelop the department store into a more modern form of space. Our plan is to incorporate not only retail space but also office and residential space to make this more of a complete community,” said Finley McEwen, Senior VP of development.
A member of the Architectural Conversancy of Ontario says they will be monitoring the process closely.
