About The Coalition
The Preamble
Many of us have been filled with dismay and sadness seeing The Burr lying
dormant for such a long time. On the one hand there was concern for the heritage
aspects and on the other hand, the loss of a wonderful performing arts venue.
There was the ever present risk of the building being sold, torn down and
replaced with yet another high-rise!
The New Westminster Heritage Preservation Society convened a meeting to
explore what could be done. The Society had already identified the Burr as
#1 of the top ten most endangered buildings in New
Westminster. There were delegates from the Downtown BIA, the Arts Council, the
Heritage Preservation Society and City staff.
The City staff assured the meeting that the City had no intention of selling the
Burr and that if we as a group would put together a proposal on how the Burr
could be used, the City would be prepared to consider it.
The City RFP
The group continued to meet somewhat irregularly as it was summer and there was
no perceived urgency. Then, out of the blue, the City published a
request for proposal for interested parties to purchase
The Burr. The due date for the proposals is September 18!
The Coalition
Faced with the City's RFP, the group formed the "Save The Burr Coalition".
Currently the Coalition consists of the New Westminster Heritage Preservation
Society and the Arts Council of New Westminster, each organization having
contributed some funds as seed money for the Save The Burr project.
Normally we would have consulted more widely but because of the RFP deadling
there was no time. The Coalition is open to any organizations and individuals who want to
participate! If you are interested, do contact us - we need all the support we
can get!
The Strategy
While the RFP calls for proposals to purchase the Burr property, we will submit a
proposal that will meet the desired outcomes of the RFP without the City having
to sell the property.
Key to the success of our proposal will be an appreciation by the public and Council of the
value of
the Burr to the community. So the Coalition will invest in extensive public
relations.
While the short time imposed by the RFP deadline does not allow us to explore
fully possible sources of financial support, we will nevertheless address the
financial implications in our proposal.
Our Vision
Click here to view/print a copy of
our vision...