The Mayor of St. John’s says the onus is on the owners of heritage structures to work with the city to help keep them from falling into a state of disrepair.

Historic Baird Cottage, also known as Bryn Mawr, was destroyed by fire in the early morning hours on Friday.

The property had been vacant for years and was the source of some controversy after the city gave it a heritage designation—which the property owners say blocked them from developing the site.

Mayor Danny Breen calls the loss of the structure “devastating.”

Breen voted in favour of the heritage structure designation back in 2015. When asked if he regretted that decision in light of the fate that befell the property, Breen was blunt.

He says he voted for the designation in 2015 and he’d vote for it again today. Breen believes they made the right decision because if they hadn’t the property would have been torn down anyway.

He says the city is limited in what it can do to save such properties.

Breen defends city regulations by saying the heritage designation comes with some leniency on the rules and gives owners the ability to repurpose and redevelop the properties.

But ultimately, he says buying or owning a heritage property is a commitment to maintaining it. He says they want to work with owners to keep their properties in proper condition.