City of Fredericton to sell 19th-century Lemont House, now with heritage status

Abuilding harking back to when Fredericton's southern bank of the St. John River was a transportation and trading hub is set to go on the market this time with heritage status.

The City of Fredericton plans to sell the Lemont House, a two-storey brick building situated between the lighthouse and the federal building on Queen Street.

The plan to sell the building this year was revealed in Fredericton's 2022 annual report, which councillors adopted this week.

CBC News asked for an interview with city staff, but spokesperson Wayne Knorr, said in an email that the city is preparing to sell the building through a public process, and more information would be provided at that time.

Built in the 1880s, Lemont House was lived in by the Lemont family, who were furniture dealers and owned a store on Queen Street.

John Leroux, a local architectural historian, said the building is a testament to a period when economic activity in Fredericton was closely tied to the river and is almost as important alandmark as Officers' Square.

"If we lost that building, the character of Officers' Square would be absolutely compromised," Leroux said.

"So it's really important, and I hope that whoever buys itis sensitive to its character and its importance."

In 2021 the city acquired the building from Aquilini Properties LP, allaying concerns at the time from heritage advocates about its fate in the midst of visible signs of dilapidation.

The city has since stayed quiet about any repairs or plansfor the building, but in January councillors voted to give the building heritage status.

Now with heritage status, no significantchanges to the building's exterior can be made without first getting consent from the city, said Jeremy Mouat, president of the Fredericton Heritage Trust.

"I think in the case of Lemont House, it's to ensure that a new owner will be well aware that the city has placed a real valuea heritage value on the house," Mouat said.

Mouat said for example, if exterior work is needed, the heritage status wouldrequire that any repairs to the brick blend in seamlessly with the rest of the structure.

"It's largely, you know, the outside look," he said.

"They're not going to tell you to paint the rooms a certain colour or anything like that. It's just the overall look of the building needs to be congruent with the style of the original building."

Mouat said he's not concerned with the city's plan to sell the property, which is assessed by Service New Brunswick at $454,600.

"There's a ton of wonderful uses to which the building could be put, and I'm sure that there's some really creative, interesting people with great ideas for the building, and I hope one of them ends up buying it."

Leroux said for years the building had been used as long-term residences as part of the operations of the Crowne Plaza hotel, which Aqulini Properties owns.

He said he hopes whoever buys Lemont House next can use it for a similar purpose.

"The best thing to do would be to let the building be what it wants to be, which is, you know, housing of some sort," he said.