The controversial properties at 111-119 King St. East include two vacant lots and a large, dilapidated post-war house. JD Irving purchased the properties in the mid-1990s and they are adjacent to the company’s headquarters in Saint John. The company has been seeking the change since 2016 and wants to demolish the building, which has been empty, unheated and boarded up for six years. The signboard entrance to the JD Irving apartment building at 111 King Street East. (Hadeel Ibrahim/CBC) The company has argued that the building, known as the Brown House, does not fit in the street with neighboring buildings, mostly built in an earlier period, and is therefore not historically significant. But the Heritage Protection Council did not agree with the argument and refused to make the changes. In the meantime, the building continued to deteriorate, and in early 2020, Mayor Donna Reardon, who was a city councilor at the time, questioned the company’s motives. “My concern is that neglect is happening there.” Reardon said. “The building will be lost over time. There seems to be absolutely no intention to try to save it or save it or do anything with it.” Monday night’s public hearing was to consider a proposal by the company to turn the building site into a play park in exchange for removing the heritage designations from all three properties. A conceptual drawing of the proposed JD Irving Park says it would be built on the site of the so-called Brown House on King Street East. (City of Agios Ioannis) JD Irving would agree to maintain the park for 20 years. When asked why the company has no interest in selling the property. Irving spokesman Douglas Dean said it was considered significant because of its proximity to its headquarters and the company did not want to lose control of the land.
Common opposition was expressed
Many opposed the project at Monday night’s city council meeting. Resident owner Greg Patterson told the council he pushed the idea of a cultural precinct on King Street East starting in 1998 until it became a reality. “Seven buildings specifically were demolished on King Street East in six years,” Patterson said. “So we defined the road landscape in 2005. “Since then, there have been no demolitions on King Street East. There have been hundreds of thousands of dollars of historic restoration done on properties in my neighborhood.” Photo showing some of the mold and water damage inside 111 King St. East. (JD Irving) Patterson said if JDIrving wants to build a park, the company could do so on the vacant lot next door and build the building. “So let’s do both. Let’s keep the property for restoration and reuse. Let’s build the park.” John Fraser owns property in nearby Princess Street. He told the council that he had advocated the removal of a heritage designation on two different properties, including his own, and it was rejected. “Both of these applicants involved people who restored buildings, people who maintained buildings, people who paid for the electricity, people who kept the heat on, people who housed people who work in the city and pay taxes to the city.” Fraser said. “And now there’s a building that someone, by their own choice, has neglected, it’s become more abandoned than it was before. And they’re asking to let it go under special conditions. To me, that’s wrong.” The Heritage Preservation Review Board also opposed the project. Jennifer Brown of Dillon Consulting spoke on behalf of JD Irving. Her company was called to inspect the building. He said the engineer’s report found the cost of restoration not feasible, stating the rear of the building was structurally unsound and the front, although in somewhat better shape, would have to be stripped down to bare timbers to remove the damage. from mold and hazardous materials. There were others who spoke in favor of the idea, including estate agent Bob McVicar and historian Harold Wright. Many councilors expressed concerns and said they could not support the plan. Coun. David Hickey pointed out a clause in the contract that would allow JD Irving to stop maintaining the park if vandalism becomes a major issue. A photo of the interior of the building taken by Dillon Consulting engineers. (JD Irving) Council asked staff to take a second look at whether it should stay. Coun. Paula Radwan said she could not support the plan and expressed her disappointment at JD Irving’s handling of the matter. “You buy a building, you own it, you take care of it. If you can’t, sell it to someone who will,” he said. Coun. Joanna Killen, Coun. Greg Norton and Hickey also voted no. But a slim majority voted in favor. Coun. Gary Sullivan seemed to sum up what many of the others on that side were thinking. “We have no power to force them to do anything with the building other than what they’re doing with the building right now,” he said. “At the moment it’s a horrible eyesore in a prominent location above the city. Do I as a councilor want to have it as an eyesore for the next X years?” The proposal still needs to go through a third reading.
