New Westminster city council has decided to support tearing down a tower that is a reminder of abuse for those who once lived at the former Woodlands provincial institution.

Coun. Bill Harper said council voted unanimously on July 11 to demolish the Centre Block tower, reversing an earlier decision to look into somehow retaining the heritage structure.

Harper, who initially supported keeping the tower, said the future of the structure became a controversial issue in the community and on council.

The tower, which survived fires that destroyed the Woodlands Centre Block building in 2008, stirred memories of suffering for onetime Woodlands residents and family members.

“The decision I think from my perspective was to resolve the issue and move on because we were just going to linger and linger and cause more division in the community,” Harper told the Straight by phone.

The B.C. Association for Community Living welcomed the New Westminster council decision. In a news release, the group says former Woodlands residents “experienced some of the worst abuse in Centre Block, which once housed the dentist’s office and hospital”.

Harper said a garden and interpretive plaques will replace the tower, which sits on property owned by Onni Group, the company behind the surrounding Victoria Hill residential development. Onni will also provide the city with $600,000 toward a fund to restore heritage buildings, Harper said.

Initially opened as an insane asylum, Woodlands provided residential care to those with disabilities from 1898 until it closed in 1996.

Following the closure, allegations of physical and sexual abuse surfaced and the province assigned a former provincial ombudsman to conduct a review.

The report released in 2002 found there was evidence of systemic abuse at Woodlands, based on a review of records from 1975 to 1992. The B.C. government disagreed with the finding.

In 2009, the B.C. government announced it had reached a proposed settlement with some former Woodlands residents after a class-action lawsuit was initiated.