The Loss of Wilkinson Steel - Olympic Village Loses Heritage Building
Vancouver's Wilkinson Steel building demolished despite heritage protection in official plan. A policy betrayal in Olympic Village development.
Vancouver Heritage Foundation
With information provided by CityHallWatch and Robert Renger
By Elke Porter | WBN News Vancouver | June 22, 2025
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The demolition of the Wilkinson Steel building at 215 West 1st Avenue represents more than just the removal of another industrial structure—it marks a profound betrayal of Vancouver's own planning commitments and the erasure of a crucial piece of our city's industrial heritage.
This warehouse once housed Vancouver Mill Machinery Ltd., operating under the Wilkinson Steel name. The building stood as a testament to Vancouver's industrial past, joining other converted heritage structures like the Vancouver Salt Company Building, which now forms the vibrant heart of Olympic Village Square, and the nearby Opsal Steel building at 97 East 2nd Avenue.
The Wilkinson Steel building at 215 West 1st Avenue was a single-storey industrial warehouse constructed in 1950 on the Foreshore Lands of Southeast False Creek. Built with a wood frame and corrugated metal cladding, the long, narrow structure was designed by structural engineer F.W. Urry as a functional warehouse with open-sided design featuring travelling gantry cranes. The building was strategically positioned between railway tracks and False Creek's shoreline to facilitate the storage and transshipment of imported industrial metal products, with direct rail access and water access for cargo transfer from ships in the harbour.
The building's heritage value stemmed from its representative industrial architecture and its role in Vancouver's economic history as part of the import-distribution network that characterized the city's early 20th-century economy. Wilkinson Steel, established in 1910, operated from this location until around 1966, after which the building housed subsequent industrial tenants including Ellett Copper and Brass Company and Vancouver Mill and Machinery through the 1970s and 1980s.
The structure's siting responded to the historic shoreline pattern of False Creek and preserved important physical reminders of the area's industrial past, including railway tracks, gantry cranes, and the building's orientation toward both water and rail transportation infrastructure.
The building's fate was sealed following a fire on July 25, 2023, which damaged portions of the roof and cladding. While the warehouse had been vacant prior to the incident, its demolition raises serious questions about the city's commitment to its own planning policies.
The Southeast False Creek Official Development Plan (SEFC ODP), adopted by Vancouver City Council, explicitly designated the Wilkinson Steel building as having "heritage value" and mandated that it "remain in or near its current location." The plan specifically identified the structure as a focal point for the western "works yard" neighbourhood, envisioning it as part of a cultural landscape that would preserve the area's industrial character while fostering community development.
This wasn't merely a suggestion—it was official policy, complete with detailed illustrations showing how the building would integrate into the neighbourhood's future vision. The SEFC ODP recognized that these former industrial buildings provided essential links to the past while offering opportunities for adaptive reuse as cultural spaces.
The demolition raises a fundamental question: when and how was this Council-adopted policy overturned? The process by which a building specifically protected in an Official Development Plan came to be demolished deserves public scrutiny and explanation.
Vancouver has lost more than bricks and mortar with the Wilkinson Steel building's destruction. We've lost a tangible connection to our industrial heritage and squandered an opportunity to create meaningful cultural space in one of the city's most dynamic neighbourhoods. Perhaps most troubling, we've witnessed the abandonment of our own planning principles—a precedent that should concern anyone who values heritage preservation and accountable governance in our rapidly changing city.
TAGS: #Vancouver Heritage #Olympic Village #Wilkinson Steel #Heritage Preservation #Vancouver Development #Industrial Heritage #WBN News Vancouver #Elke Porter
Connect with Elke at Westcoast German Media or on LinkedIn: Elke Porter or contact her on WhatsApp: +1 604 828 8788. Public Relations. Communications. Education.
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