Bill would open up historic Saint John courthouse to other uses

The province has introduced a bill to repeal a nearly 200-year-old trust for theSydney Street courthouse in Saint John so the historic building can be developed for other uses.

A declaration of trustexecuted in 1826 by the mayor and council says the building can only be used for court proceedings or municipal offices.

Repealing the trust would mean developers couldtake over the building and repurpose it.

The building has sat vacant since 2013, when the new Saint John Law Courts opened. It is still owned and maintained by the province but considered surplus property.

Housekeeping measure

Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Bill Fraser said the bill, which was introduced in the legislature this week, is basically a housekeeping measure to facilitate the sale of the building.

The province had asked the City of Saint John if it wants to take over the building, but council voted against it in February 2016, freeing the province to seek other buyers.

Fraser said he expects the legislation will pass during this session of the legislature.

Once that's complete, the province will issuea requestfor proposals on the building.

Historical group watching

Lawyer John Barry is spearheading a sub-committee of the New BrunswickHistorical Society focused on saving the 191-year-old building.

He said the repeal is a positive move as it clears the way for the building to be taken over and have a future.

"But we're still monitoring that any future use preserves the historical integrity of the building, [while] not restricting any proposals that would appropriately use it," he said, adding that features such as the courthouse's spiral staircase would be critical to preserve.

In May, Saint John council agreed to pay for half of a feasibility study by the Saint John Theatre Company to find out whether the courthouse could house the performance company.

Fraser said he was not aware of any formal proposals coming forward to take over the courthouse at this point.

"Until we go out to RFP, we won't know exactly who's interested," he said.