Former Moncton High School sits vacant with no plans in sight
Jennifer Basa - Video Journalist
Leigha Farnell - CTVNewsAtlantic.ca writer
Published Wednesday, February 10, 2021 6:15PM AST
Last Updated Wednesday, February 10, 2021 7:17PM AST
https://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/former-m...Gfwh21vRLF8oQk
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One of the most significant landmarks in downtown Moncton has been vacant since 2015.
The former Moncton High School, previously home to 1,200 students, now sits quietly on Church Street.
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Heritage Developments purchased the property from the province in 2016 at a price tag of $1 million.
CTV News reached out to Heritage Developments for an interview, but they did not respond.
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It seems that any plans for the former MHS have been put on hold or abandoned.
Originally, there were great plans to convert the building into commercial space, but, although never stated, I suspect this would have been for TD for the banking centre currently occupying the former Sears at Champlain Place. At 1200 employees, this would have filled the former high school.
There were also plans to convert the former auditorium for a performing arts space, with training facilities for the Atlantic Ballet Theatre of Canada. This also seems on hold, probably at least partly due to the pandemic.
The entire building is empty and adrift, with nothing in the offing to suggest any future direction. At least the building has a responsible owner, and necessary repairs have been made to stabilize the building.
I sincerely hope that the plans for the old auditorium get back on track. At 1200 seats, the auditorium would be the largest theatre space in the Maritimes and could have a bright future.
As to what to do with the remainder of the building, that's hard to say. The commercial real estate business is moribund due to the pandemic and may take a decade to recover (if ever). It might be time to think outside the box.
Maybe consideration should be given to converting the rest of MHS into condo units or rental apartments. Conversions like this can have a lot of character. You don't have to look any further than Castle Manor to realize this. There are a couple of other (smaller) former schools in the city that have undergone residential conversion.