New Brunswick Museum finally chooses spot to call home — and it's same place as always

The New Brunswick Museum in Saint John has announced its choice for a new location, and it turns out to be the site of its old building.

After months of remaining tight-lipped on the two locations that were being considered, the museum issued a news release Friday confirming the decision to expand in the museum's current location on Douglas Avenue. 

"We are very satisfied with the location selection," said Kathryn Hamer, the chair of the museum's board. 

"It is a location that is rich in historical significance. We have a plan that will avoid any impact to the nearby park, while reinvigorating the traditional home of the New Brunswick Museum on a site it has occupied for almost a century."

The site has a lot to offer, said Donald Schmitt, a founding partner of Diamond Schmitt Architects, the company awarded the contract to design the new facility.

"With the incredible geology and topography of Saint John, this site beautifully captures sightlines onto the confluence of the St. John (Wolastoq) and Kennebecasis rivers as well as Saint John Harbour and the Bay of Fundy beyond," said Schmitt, according to the release. 

"The building will be designed with community input, so it connects not just to the landscape, but to the people – past and present – who use it. The revitalized NBM will aim to reflect the stories and histories of the people of New Brunswick, as told by their descendants."

Hamer said there's still a lot of work to do on the design, but it will be part new and part old. She said admirers of the existing red sandstone building need not fear — the facade will remain.

That and an original interior staircase were two of the main reasons the architects wanted to build on the existing site, she said. 

The original building will remain and be revitalized, while some of the add-ons or outer buildings will be removed to make way for "the exciting shiny new parts that will be added," said Hamer. 

She's hopeful preliminary design plans will be revealed by the fall. 

The existing property on Douglas Avenue doesn't provide enough space for the roughly 160,000-square-foot facility envisioned for the site, said Hamer. That's why the province is trying to buy five privately held properties on Douglas Avenue. 

With a newborn and a toddler, now is not an ideal time to move for Steven and Mollie Gray — especially not in the current housing market with soaring inflation rates. 

Yet they are, effectively being forced out of their Douglas Avenue heritage home to make way for the expanded museum.

The couple are one of five property owners on Douglas Avenue who have received offers from the province to buy. Steven Gray isn't looking forward to having to move.

"Like anybody knows with a toddler and a newborn, it's extremely busy," said Gray. 

"So if we have to incorporate any kind of packing up and moving, cleaning or anything like that, there's no time for that when you have children of any age really."

But the Grays are even more concerned about where they will move. They were just notified in March and were initially told the province would like to have a deal signed by the end of June. 

They bought their 150-year-old home in 2018 for $207,000 and it's now assessed at $250,000. 

The province has offered them $300,000, plus up to $20,000 to reimburse them for moving and other expenses — provided they supply the receipts. 

While Gray said that's a fair offer for the value of the house, he said it isn't enough to put them into a similar home.

"They haven't taken into consideration that our house looks onto the St. John River and … location is one of the biggest sellers for real estate there is," Gray said. "There's no other water view in Saint John for $300,000."

After talking with lawyers and others, he also believes it's futile to fight expropriation. He said he understands that the projects usually go ahead. 

"So if it has to happen, it has to happen [but] we would like to get properly compensated."

The properties the museum wants to use include four with residences, one empty lot that is privately owned, and a narrow sliver of land owned by the City of Saint John, according to the province's online records. 

Some owners, like Terry Keating, have accepted the offers from the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure. 

Keating has lived in the same Douglas Avenue house for 51 years. He's sad to leave the neighbourhood he's been in since 1972, but he decided to accept the province's offer and has already moved out after finding a bungalow in Milledgeville. 

"Moving's tough. Anybody will tell you that moving is tough and I'm not going to move for another 51 years. I'm 77, so I doubt I will have to worry about that," he said when contacted on Thursday.

Keating said he was first notified about the offer a year ago, so he's had the benefit of being able to look for a new house. He doesn't envy those who just recently found out. 

He said the province first approached him eight years ago with an offer, but "that whole thing fell apart." That timeline coincides with another big push by government to find a new home for the museum. 

Keating said he's agreed to sign over the deed at the end of the month and is content with the government's monetary offer. 

According to online records, his house is assessed at $180,000 and the government has agreed to give him $253,000. They've also offered up to $20,000 to cover expenses of the sale and move. 

Two other property owners were contacted by CBC, but haven't responded to interview requests. 

The choice of a site comes after some shaky years for the museum. In recent years, the collection was spread between the leaky research and archives building on Douglas Avenue and an exhibit centre at Market Square downtown. Both are now closed and their contents in storage.

A series of public engagement sessions will be held around the province on the design for the museum expansion. No dates have been set.