By the 1990s it became known that the Parks Board intended to demolish the block for a combination of green space and new developments. An advocacy coalition called the “Friends of Mole Hill” was formed to save the block from demolition. They proposed a vision in which the buildings were restored to their original state with the highest possible environmental standards available. Public spaces, community gardens and plant and wildlife habitat areas could be integrated with rental housing for low and moderate income.
After almost a decade of advocacy, municipal and provincial government bodies agreed to sponsor the project. (Read more about this period here: “The Advocacy Years”)