What's happening to 47 boarded-up buildings in Saint John?

A Saint John street witha disturbingreputation forhomicides, brawls and drugdealsis looking a bitbrighter.

Several houses on Peters Street have bright new paint and fresh stucco. Garbage has beenhauled away. Workers arepulling weeds out of the cracks in the sidewalks.

The seven houses under renovation were part of a swath ofbuildings in Saint John'sWaterloo Village area, and 33in theold north end, purchased by Fredericton-based PMVCanada Inc. last year.

All were formerlyregistered to Phillip Huggard Properties Ltd. and sold as part of Huggard's bankruptcy proceedings.

DaveLoten, PMV Canada's chief operating officer,said the company has since invested almost $1 million in the properties on top of the purchase price.

The properties are being managed by Springfall Property Management.

According to Loten, the work is just getting started and they're hoping to begin a similar transformation onSaint John's beleaguered Main Street in 2018.

Secret alleyways, used needles

Large-scale progress doesn't happen overnight.

When crews started renovations on seven buildings on Peters Street, Loten said, they made some surprising discoveries.

A network of passages connected the back entrances and porches of neglected, garbage-strewn apartment houses.

"There were alleys and paths running behind the buildings that people would use to engage in the drug trade without being seen from the street," he said.

A baby barn on one of the properties had been converted into a "fort." People had been camping out in the courtyards. Some had lit fires on the decks.

In one backyard, Loten said, people had tamped down the shoulder-high weeds to made a hideout that crews found "just full" of discarded syringes.

"We picked up two big garbage cans on rollers just full of needles," he said.

Crewsfilled numerous 40-yard dumpsters full of garbage, sofas, furniture, food and clothing.

"We evicted everyone that was a problem," Loten said. "Some of the tenants didn't like that." Crews boarded up the alleyways, reinforcingthe doors with locks.

"We've cleaned up the street literally cleaned it up," he said.

Developers find trash everywhere in recently acquired Saint John apartments

8 years ago

Duration 1:35

PMV Canada Inc. is taking over dozens of old Saint John apartment buildings. They are finding themselves up to their armpits in garbage and broken pipes.

On Thursday, walking through the light, airyhalls of a freshly renovated heritage building, Lotensaid, "this [building] has beautiful architectural features, high ceilings, it's right on the bus route.

"But this apartment was full of needles and condoms. You had to wear protective clothing in here. Now, it's a nicer area, and the street around it is nice."

PMV crews have focusedwork on the buildings nearest Saint John'suptown core,Loten said, because there's more of a market for those units than in the north end.

"We have to do it in an organized fashion, so that we have rent coming in," he said.

Next, he said, they'll tackle exterior work on a swath of boarded-up residential properties thathave blighted the lower end of Main Street for years.

'Horror stories'

Ben Appleby is a housing coordinator with Housing Alternatives, a nonprofit that connects hard-to-house clients with rent supplements and support.

"Those buildings had had a reputation for sure," he said. "I've heard lots of horror stories from those units."

"We've been waiting to see what would happen," he said. "As time goes by you get discouraged that they're just going to sit there and be vacant and look terrible. It's a big knock to the neighborhood."

Appleby saidHousing Alternatives is working with Springfall Property Management with the goal of moving clients into the newly-renovated units.

"If it's up to standard we would certainly move ahead with it," he said "When you see the boards being taken off and a coat of paint going on, it does change a neighborhood."

Appleby said Housing Alternatives has plans to visitone of the buildings the week of November 5.

Next stop: Main Street?

In addition to the buildings on Peters Street, Loten said since last fall crews have done partial work on "almost all" of the properties on Main Street although, he admitted, you wouldn't know it from the outside.

For now, "the buildings the the north end have to remain boarded up to keep people out," Loten said.

After problems last winter with frozen pipes and burst water lines,his crews are prioritizing the plumbing and electrical work.

"We had to do that, then we'll clean up the exterior. People just don't see what we're already doing inside," he said.

Some of of them will also be demolished.

"Some of them that had fires in them, it's just not worth it," he said.

Although the progress has been slow, Loten urged patience.

"Next year the boards will start coming off the windows on Main Street," he said.

"We're on our way, and we're going to get there."