A defender of heritage preservation expects a historic building in the center of Fredericton to save a destination similar to some of the residents who once occupied it, after its recent sale to a private real estate company.
Once the public execution site, the former York County prison was bought in March by a numbered company registered in Wei Liu, who also has more than a dozen other commercial and residential properties throughout Fredericton.
“If they seek to rent the building, hopefully that means that they are giving some time and consideration what future use will be,” said Ian Robertson, director of Fredericton Heritage Trust.
“And hopefully, unlike perhaps some of the former prison inmates who may have received chains chains or even death sentences, that this building will have an execution stay and lives to see another day for many, many years.”
A real estate company Fredericton has bought the former York County prison for $ 800,000 and has quoted it to rent for $ 8,500 per month.
Built in 1842, the building in Brunnswick Street, near the Boyce farmers market, served as a prison until 1996, but remained immersed in notoriety because it is the site of public executions, the last of which occurred in 1949, with a double hanging.
Science East moved to the building in 1999, turning the cells and a dining room into offices and exhibition spaces, where he offered scientific education programming until the beginning of last year. Then the organization found financial challenges.
It still operates without a science center, offering reservations for school workshops and educational dissemination events, according to the Science East website.
The old prison was designated as a provincial heritage building in 2003.
List for $ 1.2 million, sold for $ 800k
Although the building was originally listed for sale for $ 1.2 million, provincial property records show that Liu’s numbered company bought it for $ 800,000 in March.
The New Brunswick Corporate Affairs Registry shows that the numbered company controls Sunfield property, which has since listed the building for rent on its website for $ 8,500 per month.
According to the list, the allowed uses include a nursery, a retail trade, an office or a restaurant within the 10,000 square feet floor plan of the building.
The photos shared in the list suggest few or no change in the interior design of the building since Science East moved, with the brand and team of the organization still visible in some images.
CBC News requested an interview with Liu about his plans for the building, but did not receive an answer.
Repeal of the possible designation, says the defender of Heritage
The building is described as “Pura Georgiana functional architecture”, in a profile of the previous prison for the registration of Canadian historical places, administered by Parks Canada.
Designed by the architect Thomas Smith, it was built by local contractor Andrew Blair, mainly, with gray granite extracted from the Spoon Island quarry, near Hampstead, in southern New Brunswick.
While Robertson finds some comfort knowing that the building has a designation of provincial heritage, he said that the new owner could request that it be repealed.
“And sometimes, that is necessary, unfortunately, but I suppose it is a step on the road.
According to the Heritage Conservation Law, the owner of a designated building provincially must receive a permit from the Minister of Tourism, Heritage and Culture before making any alteration that changes its characteristics that define the character.
The elimination of a patrimonial designation would require a signature of the minister.
CBC News asked the department if the new owner has requested to alter the building or repeal its designation.
“To date, the department has not received any consultation or request to repeal the designation,” said spokesman Jean Bertin in an email.
“A provincial heritage permit has been issued to the new owner to install prison bars replicas in the front windows in a historically appropriate way.”
