St. Stephen town hall's future studied by engineering firm

An engineering firm has been hired to help determine if St Stephen's historic town hall is worth saving.

The 127-year-old structure is a national historic site but it has been empty since 2009 when municipal offices were moved out amid concerns about the safety of the structure.

Mayor John Quartermain says the engineering firm has been asked to provide two cost estimates, one to stabilize the building and make it safe to be around.

The second estimate will determine how much it would cost to completely restore the building to modern standards.

If it's deemed to be a cost that is going to put a strain on our finances in St Stephen then it possibly could be torn down.- Mayor John Quartermain

"The central part of that building has sagged some or dropped some," said Quartermain.

"I'm not sure exactly what that entails to rectify that problem."

Quartermain said stabilizing the building would make it safe for its neighbours but not necessarily safe to allow it to be reopened and occupied. 

Quartermain concedes that if costs are too high, "in the millions," the building could be removed. 

"If it's deemed to be a cost that is going to put a strain on our finances in St Stephen then it possibly could be torn down," he said.

The three-storey brick building was designed by Thomas Fuller, the architect behind Canada's Parliament buildings.

The decision to hire an engineering firm to study the building is the latest attempt by the town to save the building.

The town issued a request for proposals to developers a year ago and received no formal responses.

A community group, the Old Town Hall Arts Centre Steering Committee, then came forward and requested time to prepare a proposal to take over the building.

Quartermain says he has not yet seen anything formal from the committee.

CBC was unable to reach the group's spokesperson.

'It's built like a tank'

John Leroux, a New Brunswick architect, said St Stephen has done the right thing by commissioning an engineering study for the old town hall.

He said believes it will show the building is basically solid.

While brickwork on one section needs to be replaced, Leroux said he thinks the structure can be saved.

"The rest of the building seems really straight and true," said Leroux.

"It's built like a tank. It would be about as well built a building as exists anywhere in New Brunswick."

Leroux, who has been through the building, said water sometimes gets into the basement but that section does not have to be used.

"It's a precious building," said Leroux.

"You could potentially fix that for a quarter, a fifth, a 10th, who knows, of what it would cost you to build it from scratch."

In the meantime, Quartermain said the town's administrative offices, which have been located in temporary quarters for the past six years, will likely move into newly renovated space within six months.

There are two potential options on the table for the offices.

One option is in the town's former rink, the Border Area Arena. 

The second option is in the historic former railway station, which will be vacated when the province's Visitor Information Centre moves to new quarters that are now under construction.