Historic Halifax Black church seeks $1.5M as renos plagued by hidden oil tank, asbestos

A prominent Halifax church says a major renovation project has run over deadline and racked up huge costs that the congregation is struggling to cover. 

A local graveyard owner has even offered to auction off grave plots to help with the fundraising efforts.

Rev. Rhonda Britton, pastor of New Horizons Baptist Church in Halifax, said the project that began in 2018 and was originally supposed to take 18 months has now stretched to three years.

"Part of the delay right now is that we don't have all of the money that we need to complete the project," Britton said Wednesday.

The original church on Cornwallis Street remains, which is a heritage property, while the adjoining office space was torn down and replaced with a new one. The expansion includes new classrooms, a new technology room, a library, and a community space with large windows overlooking the street.

There will also be a new kitchen, and new accessible washrooms. A lift will be installed outside to bring people into the sanctuary from the old front door, as well as an internal elevator to bring people to any floor.

"There have been a number of challenges along the way, not only with the pandemic, but with finances as well. And with problems on the property, very interesting problems that always come up when you're doing construction on old, old buildings," Britton said.

One major problem that cost an unexpected $250,000 was the discovery of a buried oil tank underneath the old office building. Britton said they had to remediate the site, and have the contaminated soil taken away.

Then part of the roof collapsed, disturbing asbestos, which brought a "nice hefty price tag," Britton said, and then they had to lay new water and sewer lines.

With all the setbacks and unexpected costs, Britton said the total cost is now around $3.2 million, "and that's quite a lot for our small congregation to bear."

She said as of this week, they still need around $1.5 million to reach that goal.

Bill Mont owns the Pleasant Hill cemetery in Lower Sackville, and offered the church 10 grave plots as fundraising items when he heard of their money troubles. 

They cost $2,000 each, with all proceeds going to the New Horizons Church. Mont noted each plot allows for one traditional burial and four cremations.

Mont said when he first came to Britton with the idea, she didn't know what to say but "seemed to be quite happy."

He is also ready to hold a silent auction or similar event whenever the church has some room to store physical items, Mont said, since that's his main business. Mont is known as the king of flea markets for bringing the first one to Nova Scotia in the 1970s.

So far, Britton said one family has bought two plots.

Britton said they are now writing grants and looking for large donors to help them finish their fundraising efforts, but don't want to borrow more than they already have.

She hopes the community will rally around "this historic church in our city that has contributed so much to Halifax" since it opened in 1832, originally called the African Baptist Church.

It was founded by Richard Preston, who was an American and son of a former slave who came from Virginia. The church has been a part of many social and racial justice causes in Halifax and Nova Scotia, as well as a history of outreach like winter coat drives and free dinners.

The church's renaming in 2018 from Cornwallis Street Baptist Church to New Horizons not only moved away from the controversial historical figure Edward Cornwallis, Britton said, but highlights how future generations will reach for new things.

"We want to continue this tremendous legacy for many, many years to come," Britton said. 

For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.