South end space for arts and community groups in Saint John could become housing

Saint John council has taken steps toward approving a B.C. developer's plan to turn a former church that became home to arts and community groups into a residential and commercial building.

The south end building in the Trinity Royal Heritage Conservation Area includes the former Germain Street United-Baptist church, built 200 years ago, at Germain and Queen streets.

Council gave first and second reading Monday night to the proposed rezoning of the property from neighbourhood community facility to urban centre residential.

Community organizations, including the InterAction School of Performing Arts and Chroma NB, which provides services and resources to 2SLGBTQ+ residents, will vacate the space.

Young people's arts group sold building

InterAction, which provides arts programs for children, bought the building in 2013, according to the group's website.

The group sold the building to B.C. architect Bruce Wilkin last October for $150,000, about a quarter of its assessed value.

Bruce Wilkin, of Victoria-based contracting company Bruce Wilkin Inc., attended the meeting virtually. He told council he wants to create 25 new housing units on the site. The sizes would range from bachelor to two-bedroom units.

Staff reports say part of the ground floor of the building could be used for commercial purposes such as a business office, bakery, restaurant or art studio.

Sale a shock to community groups

Community groups were blindsided when they learned of the sale of the property, according to Chuck Teed, the former executive director of InterAction School of Performing Arts, who spoke against the proposed rezoning at a hearing Monday.

"The community did not get an adequate chance to weigh in on this until very recently," Teed told council.

"It was [sold] so quietly, quickly and privately. … Despite the fact that it should have fetched the highest price on the market I feel like the community would have stepped in to save the building had they had any inclination that it was going up for sale."

Service New Brunswick's property assessment information page shows the site sold for $450,000 in 2013. When the site was sold again in October, it was for $150,000. The assessed value of the property last year was $597,700. 

Housing beats community space 

No current representatives of InterAction, the previous owners of the building, attended the public hearing on the rezoning, and none sent a letter in support or opposition.

Two councillors, Gary Sullivan and Brent Harris, voted against the proposal, saying the community space was a loss and could have been saved. 

Wilkin said the site has two buildings. One is the old church, which Wilkin called "the Institute," and a smaller building next to it housing the theatre space, which he called "the Sanctuary Theatre."

Teed said the property sale led some groups to vacate the building immediately. ArtsLink New Brunswick, a non-profit that promotes arts and culture in the province, announced on its Faebook page after the sale that it was moving out.

Monopolized Records, an independent studio, was on the property until November, when it announced, also on Facebook, it was moving to Market Square. ArtsLink NB now operates on Prince William Street.

Teed said these groups were not consulted about the sale until it was too late. He said the city needs housing, but it also needs spaces for the arts.

Responding to Teed's comments, Wilkin said he gave Chroma NB and InterAction free rent until June 30, and he wanted to include community spaces in the zoning to accommodate the two groups.

"But both InterAction and Chroma have decided to leave," Wilkin said.

"They made that decision on their own. I offered other space in the building to both groups if they wanted to carry on but because of the financial condition that InterAction was in, I don't think they were able to continue."

Wilkin said the cost of heating was a factor in the group's decision.

Coun. Joanna Killen praised Wilkin for trying to rehabilitate the space, saying the city "desperately needs housing." 

But Harris suggested council needed more information and he found it perplexing that no one from InterAction's board said anything to council.

"It's difficult for me without InterAction here to vote in favour of this," Harris said.

"For an organization that's been here for 13 years and has had various board members, why there wasn't an effort to continue the use of that building in its state is beyond me. And why don't we have a letter from the board, a comment, nothing — it's suspicious."

Harris said he agreed with Teed that if there had been a public call to the community, the space could have been saved for continued community use. 

"Yes, we need housing," Harris said.

"But there's more to this application because of that legacy organization and its failure to be here. So, I am not going to approve of this application. I'm going to reject it."

Housing would make sense as a use for the church building, Sullivan said, but the cultural space with the theatre should be preserved.