84-86 Highfield, courtesy HistoricPlaces.ca
A developer wants to demolish a historic property in downtown Moncton next door to a new six-storey apartment building now under construction at Gordon and Highfield Streets.
Killam House is a Queen Anne-style home at 84 Highfield Street which was built in the 1890s.
Patrick Gillespie, president of the Ashford Group, says he was told the house was not heritage when he bought it along with a house on another adjacent property at 47 Elm Street.
“We’re spending 11 million dollars on this big, nice apartment building. If we keep the house we’re going to end up with one hand tied behind our back for the 40, 50 or 60 years it’s going to have a useful life,” Gillespie told Moncton City Council on Monday.
Councillor Paulette Theriault wants the City to work with the developer to save the home.
“To find the ways to make sure that we don’t lose these properties. I think… we can’t afford to lose any more… we’ve lost so many,” she noted and other councillors shared the same sentiment.
Gillespie says renovating Killam House into a single family dwelling, duplex or offices will be challenging since the national building code will require that a firewall be built on its south side next to the apartment building.
He adds there will also be limited space when new tenants are moving into their apartments.
The home is currently vacant and had been used as a rooming house.
The Canadian Registry of Historic Places has a listing for 84 Highfield Street but the property doesn’t have the City of Moncton’s heritage designation.
City Council has decided to amend its Heritage Conservation bylaw to include Killam House.
A public meeting seeking community feedback has been called for November 2.
