The derelict Franklyn St. gym, damaged in 2018, has stood over a deteriorating Wesley St. (Spencer Sterritt/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Spencer Sterritt

Derelict gym

Derelict Franklyn St. gym to be demolished near hub for Nanaimo’s most vulnerable

Sep 15, 2020 | 11:42 AM

NANAIMO — A gym acting as a downtown Nanaimo community hub for at-risk and vulnerable families will be torn down.

The first step in demolishing the Franklyn St. gym was approved by Nanaimo council on Monday, Sept. 14.

The building was destroyed by a suspicious fire in October, 2018 after a break-in.

At the time, the building was being used as the Neutral Zone drop-in centre for community meals feeding up to 200 families, as well as events such as toy drives and flu shot clinics.

“It’s a big loss for a non-profit that doesn’t have a whole lot of funds,” Tillicum Lelum executive director Grace Elliott Nielsen told NanaimoNewsNOW in 2018.

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“This is going to be a problem for a lot of the families and children at a time when we’re trying to get away from homelessness and poverty,” Nielsen said. “This is going to be another difficulty that is going to hit our community.”

No new space to host the Neutral Zone was found.

The building is owned by the Nanaimo-Ladysmith School District.

A staff report showed the school district considered rehabilitating the space but the cost of repair and clearing out hazardous materials such as asbestos was too great.

The area around the Franklyn St. gym has deteriorated significantly since the 2018 fire.

Wesley St. beside the gym is an informal hub for many of Nanaimo’s most vulnerable, with approximately 40 tents and shelters built along the street.

Each morning Wesley St. residents are displaced to a parking lot across the street and allowed to return after the area is cleaned by City bylaw staff.

The space is directly behind the City’s Service and Resource Building, where a significant number of City employees work.

The City built a gate around the building in April, 2019 due to persistent social disorder in the area.

spencer@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @SpencerSterritt