Development Rumours

[Empire]

I found the sudden assessment and closure unusual as well in terms of a detailed structural assessment. How many buildings suddenly collapse. If HRM is so concerned about the safety of its residents then fill every pothole!

I hope St. Patrick’s can be saved and fully restored. Maybe a gofundme campaign could be started with HRM making the first significant contribution followed by the province and then the feds.

[Drybrain]

Originally Posted by Empire

I found the sudden assessment and closure unusual as well in terms of a detailed structural assessment. How many buildings suddenly collapse. If HRM is so concerned about the safety of its residents then fill every pothole!

I hope St. Patrick’s can be saved and fully restored. Maybe a gofundme campaign could be started with HRM making the first significant contribution followed by the province and then the feds.

I'm guessing it's not really a question of sudden collapse as it is of bits and pieces falling off the steeple and braining people. But it HAS been neglected for a long time, so who knows.

[Empire]

Originally Posted by Drybrain

I'm guessing it's not really a question of sudden collapse as it is of bits and pieces falling off the steeple and braining people. But it HAS been neglected for a long time, so who knows.

I get it, suddenly it will be raining down steeple bits. The only catastrophe is the way the situation is being handled.

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by TheNovaScotian

That's sad to hear. When discussing it as a concert venue, I was hopeful it had a chance to be saved.
The time needed to get this into the hands of someone with the capital and permits is running out fast.

Originally Posted by Drybrain

Apparently the parishioners are launching an appeal to the Vatican. It seems to me that given the historical importance of the building, and the fact that this is registered municipally and provincially, a cost share for urgent repairs between multiple levels of government should be a no-brainer. It’s pretty terrible it’s been allowed to deteriorate like this.

It seems almost unfathomable that a historic building like this would be simply demolished, especially given the craftsmanship displayed inside. Whether it continues as a church, or is repurposed for some other use, nobody builds structures like this anymore, nor will they likely ever. It really deserves to be saved.

Hopefully something will happen here. Certainly the Roman Catholic organization has sufficient funds to do the right thing and repair this building (I suspect it would be a drop in the bucket for them).

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

One thing I do not understand and which the article failed to make clear was what exactly motivated the site visit and assessment by HRM building inspectors. I did not think that those bureaucrats were in the habit of passing judgment on existing unaltered buildings as a matter of course. Did someone file a complaint? What kind of structural assessment was done? What is the nature of the structural flaw causing it to be deemed unsafe? Was it signed off by an engineer?

Originally Posted by Drybrain

I'm guessing it's not really a question of sudden collapse as it is of bits and pieces falling off the steeple and braining people. But it HAS been neglected for a long time, so who knows.

Originally Posted by Empire

I get it, suddenly it will be raining down steeple bits. The only catastrophe is the way the situation is being handled.

I recall hearing (at Doors Open a number of years back) that decorative granite pieces had been removed from the steeple because it couldn't support the weight without some kind of structural repair, so it's not completely clear if the concern is just bits falling off and hitting people (though I would also suspect that's the immediate issue).

It sounds like nobody (including HRM) is really clear as to the extent of the repairs required, as quoted below from the article linked to in a previous post by Drybrain:

Murphy said the estimated cost of immediate renovations was quoted as high as $12.5 million, but he said that was only based on "observed building conditions" and not the result of detailed study of the steeple, tower, and façade.

"You can kind of see what needs to be done at that point, and then we can say, 'What are we dealing with in terms of a cost? What's the plan going forward?'"

He said the group of parishioners want to undertake an intrusive study paid for by funds raised by the St. Patrick’s Restoration Society.

Murphy said they delivered a detailed appeal to the Vatican's Embassy in Ottawa on June 18.

"Pending the outcome of our appeal to the Vatican, we plan to work with the archdiocese in securing a reasonable quote for repair of St. Patrick’s Church based first on immediate needs, then short-term repairs and lastly, long-term renovations to save St. Patrick’s for future generations."

[JET]

it is just a church. The most incredible basilica that I have seen in HRM was at the Motherhouse, yet it was razed without a whimper.

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by JET

it is just a church. The most incredible basilica that I have seen in HRM was at the Motherhouse, yet it was razed without a whimper.

All the more reason to not repeat the mistakes of the past.