Rugby clubhouse in rugged shape gets saved City will pitch in to restore building

sdm · #1 Posted **Mar 25, 2009, 12:05 PM**

Rugby clubhouse in rugged shape gets saved
City will pitch in to restore building
By MICHELLE JONDREAU
Wed. Mar 25 - 5:32 AM

The Halifax Rugby Football Club at 5755 Sackville St. will be renovated with financial help from the city. (Darren Pittman / Staff)

The city has decided to help the Halifax Rugby Football Club repair its old clubhouse on Sackville Street so it can be used to hold more events for the public.

"The majority of the building will be used to rent out, much like the St. Mary’s Boat Club," said Ryan Kells, treasurer of the rugby club. "People can hold garden parties, weddings, all sorts of public events."

Coun. Sue Uteck (Northwest Arm-South End) said the clubhouse is in such bad shape that it virtually needs to be replaced, at a cost about $400,000. The rugby club is expected to raise $120,000 and the city will take care of the rest.

"We need to deliberate to make sure the money is in this year’s budget," she said.

The city actually wanted to demolish the 60-year-old clubhouse in 2000 but no final decision was made. And it has since been declared a heritage site.

"It has taken this long to make a decision because the city does not have an attractive heritage incentive plan," Ms. Uteck said.

Mr. Kells said the clubhouse has been condemned for a decade and is an eyesore.

"There is plant growth in the troughs," he said. "The paint is chipping and the deck is falling apart."

The city wants the revamped clubhouse to be more accessible to the public as it opens to more events.

"The building will be wheelchair-accessible," Mr. Kells said. "There will be a kitchen and a bar."

He said the city expects the rugby club to help manage the clubhouse after it is refurbished.

"We need a firm commitment from them," Ms. Uteck said.

Meanwhile, the rugby club would like to have an established area in the city dedicated to the sport, Mr. Kells said.

"There’s limited location to play rugby and football in this area," he said.

With the right facilities, high-calibre international rugby teams could be enticed to come to Halifax, he said.

( mjondreau@herald.ca)

Keith P. · #2 Posted **Apr 1, 2009, 12:27 AM**

There is no way on god's green earth that this should be considered a heritage building.

Barrington south · #3 Posted **Apr 1, 2009, 12:35 AM**

yes,this is precisely the type of location I am dreaming about getting married in one day...

sdm · #4 Posted **Apr 1, 2009, 12:38 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Keith P.

There is no way on god's green earth that this should be considered a heritage building.

You should see the score card that they used to determine if its heritage....

out of 100 points max, with 50 the minimum being required to be considered a heritage building this building scored 51....

It would be cheaper to tear it down and build the same building all new.

Dmajackson · #5 Posted **Apr 1, 2009, 12:58 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Keith P.

There is no way on god's green earth that this should be considered a heritage building.

Earlier tonight Uteck voiced her concern that some heritage building in Musquodoboit was given no money and because of this it was de-registered tonight while this one that she doesn't like too much was given tonnes of money and it barely heritagely signficanced.

sdm · #6 Posted **Apr 1, 2009, 1:06 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bedford_DJ

Earlier tonight Uteck voiced her concern that some heritage building in Musquodoboit was given no money and because of this it was de-registered tonight while this one that she doesn't like too much was given tonnes of money and it barely heritagely signficanced.

Not sure whats the significance heritage this building is?

Dmajackson · #7 Posted **Apr 1, 2009, 1:09 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by sdm

Not sure whats the significance heritage this building is?

I don't know what it is either. I think she wanted to be nice to the HAC by saying there was something (probably just age).

someone123 · #8 Posted **Apr 1, 2009, 5:22 AM**

Barrington looks like a bomb went off and the city's worrying about derelict wooden shacks from the 1940s...

hfx_chris · #9 Posted **Apr 1, 2009, 2:45 PM**

I'm sure the building would look nice if it were fixed up, but.. that doesn't mean it should be considered a heritage building and given special treatment.

Hali87 · #10 Posted **Aug 18, 2015, 10:49 PM**

From the staff report re: heritage registration:

Quote:

The Dry Canteen was built in 1942 by the Navy League of Canada as a way to promote athletics in Halifax, but also to provide activities for military personnel during wartime. The dry canteen was built on the foundation of an earlier, Victorian Clubhouse (1896), constructed by the Wanderers Amateur Athletics Club.

While the Dry Canteen, a modest wood framed building, is not constructed in a high architectural style, the solidity and substance of its construction reflects the longevity intended by its builders. The building represents numerous historical and cultural associations such as Halifax's military history, our connection with the Navy League, and Halifax's athletic associations and athletes.

Preserving this building, and all the history it represents, provides HRM an opportunity to show leadership in expanding the Municipal Heritage Registry. Additionally, some funding opportunities may become available to the building as an HRM owned municipally registered heritage property. It is also hoped that the designation as a municipally registered heritage property will increase the public profile of the fundraising initiatives of the Rugby Club to restore the building.

I think it should stay/be registered. I can't say I think of it as a huge priority, but I guess if it's literally falling apart maybe it should. It's the last real remaining building in the Commons/Citadel complex in an unusable state and having another small events venue (the even less remarkable Pavilion is the other) would be a good thing to have.

Halifax has a fairly large and passionate rugby community, and I can definitely see several people I know getting married there, for sure. I played for HRFC for a few years back in High School/Undergrad and back then their clubhouse (diner/bar/lounge) was on the upper floor of the Halifax Curling Club, which I think caved in over the past winter (might have been earlier).

Hali87 · #11 Posted **Aug 19, 2015, 1:02 AM**

\what would actually be cooler is if the original clubhouse (pictures in link above). Cooler looking building, for sure.

What would be almost as good is if the interior were restored to its Mad Men-esque midcentury state.

Ziobrop · #12 Posted **Aug 19, 2015, 1:03 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hali87

From the staff report re: heritage registration:

I think it should stay/be registered. I can't say I think of it as a huge priority, but I guess if it's literally falling apart maybe it should. It's the last real remaining building in the Commons/Citadel complex in an unusable state and having another small events venue (the even less remarkable Pavilion is the other) would be a good thing to have.

Halifax has a fairly large and passionate rugby community, and I can definitely see several people I know getting married there, for sure. I played for HRFC for a few years back in High School/Undergrad and back then their clubhouse (diner/bar/lounge) was on the upper floor of the Halifax Curling Club, which I think caved in over the past winter (might have been earlier).

so the city agreeded to spend 350,000 to fix it. once they got into it, they found it was going to cost ~2,000,000, so they de-registered and demolished it. in 2010

Keith P. · #13 Posted **Aug 19, 2015, 1:59 PM**

Yeah, I was going to say, we dodged a bullet with that one. Now just a patch of grass and nobody misses it.

JET · #14 Posted **Aug 19, 2015, 2:30 PM**

Got to admit though, that post #10 was a great random post; lot's to look forward to, no doubt.

IanWatson · #15 Posted **Aug 19, 2015, 3:06 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by JET

Got to admit though, that post #10 was a great random post; lot's to look forward to, no doubt.

Looks like it's a spam post trying to boost the search rank of their website.

Hali87 · #16 Posted **Aug 19, 2015, 9:31 PM**

Weird, this came up as an active thread so I didn't bother looking at the year. This got demolished? That's a shame.

JET · #17 Posted **Aug 20, 2015, 12:21 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hali87

Weird, this came up as an active thread so I didn't bother looking at the year. This got demolished? That's a shame.

I like old stuff, but although there was interesting history related to the building, even I couldn't make an argument for keeping it.

OldDartmouthMark · #18 Posted **Aug 20, 2015, 3:07 PM**

Looks like the thread was never finished off, understandable to think it might still be active. I hadn't been following this one - has there been any plans to build something on this site, or was it just sodded over and called done?

I'm actually glad that Hali dug up this thread as I wasn't aware of the history of this building. I remember it as being a fairly simple building that didn't stand out for any particular reason. Had no idea of its history, though.

Looks like they made the right decision, though perhaps from a historical standpoint it's a bit of a loss. It looked pretty run-down in the 2009 Google street view:
https://www.google.ca/maps/@44.64403...7i13312!8i6656

It does occur to me that the city had a hand in letting it get to this condition, though.

It's a little ironic, given the eventual outcome, that this was mentioned as an opportunity to show leadership in expanding the Municipal Heritage Registry. Looks like a fail to me in that regard.

Regardless, it makes me wonder if this could be an opportunity to build something more useful/memorable to the public on this location, though to be honest I'm not sure how well this land is being utilized at this point.

Hali87 · #19 Posted **Aug 21, 2015, 2:58 AM**

The Wanderers Grounds are still used heavily for football and rugby - I'm guessing that Citadel use it as their home field, several of the university rugby teams do and occasional local/national club games are held there. It's one of the only rugby/football fields on the peninsula (the others are Huskies Stadium and Merv Sullivan Park far in the North End); it's also conveniently located across from the ER.

There's probably a Commons Master Plan out there somewhere and hopefully that includes the integration of adjacent parks like the Citadel and Wanderers' Grounds.

beyeas · #20 Posted **Aug 21, 2015, 11:10 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hali87

it's also conveniently located across from the ER.

laughed out loud when I read that.

As a guy running a research protocol in concussion diagnostics, and who recruits patients via the emergency department, I appreciate that.