The e-mails are flooding into St. John's Mayor Andy Wells' office begging city council to save the former Belvedere Orphanage and Convent on Bonaventure Avenue.

But Wells said no one's got a money plan to save the buildings.

"Unless we find an economic use, there's not much hope," Wells said Friday.

City council granted a demolition permit to the Sisters of Mercy who own the properties and are desperate to sell because of the high cost of maintaining the vacant buildings.

They have an offer from Myles-Leger Ltd., which wants to build an upscale townhouse sub-.
division.

Wells has said the federal and provincial governments should establish a $1-million annual fund to preserve heritage buildings.

He also said the city has already committed itself to saving the former CN rail station on Water Street and won't be able to take on any other properties.

The Newfoundland Historic Trust has started a Web site to save the two buildings.

The convent was built in 1826-27 and the orphanage was built in 1885. The Sisters left the convent in 1999 because of safety concerns.

The orphanage closed in 1969 and after that the building was used for, among other things, offices for the now-defunct Roman Catholic School Board.

• Also read: A Brief History of Belvedere Convent and Orphanage, by Shane O'Dea; or
• No Heritage Designation for Belvedere, by Barb Sweet, The Telegram;

and check out A Photo Record of Belvedere Convent and Orphanage

On March 16th, 2000 it was announced that Belvedere had won a reprise, and that demolition had been put off for 9 months.  For more on this development, read Belvedere Wins Reprieve.