'Just don’t tear it down': Heritage advocates face time crunch to save house that survived the Halifax Explosion

First at Five: Property Damage A heritage home in Halifax has divided the community, and sparked debate.

It was a surprise to Peggy Walt when contractors arrived at 1245 Edward Street and began tossing items from the house into the backyard.

"I just woke up to the sounds of construction the other day, frankly," she says.

Since May, Walt and others have been trying to save the property from eventual demolition.

After its most recent owner passed away, the historic home was sold to Dalhousie University, which has deemed it too derelict to save, citing water damage, mold, and holes in the ceilings.

Walt collected almost 6,000 signatures on a petition to prevent its destruction, and have submitted the property to the city for heritage designation.

The meeting of the city committee to discuss that is about two weeks away, which is why she was surprised to see workers on the premises.

"This house is over 125-years-old, survived the [Halifax] explosion, [is] connected with a lot of the families who built Halifax, very much merchants and business people of the day," she says.

CTV News observed wood, furniture, and other materials piled in the back yard of the property, along with workers inside.

Friday afternoon, a paper was posted on one of the windows which appeared to be a municipal Notice of Violation for the work happening there. Walt sent CTV News a photo of the document, which includes a note written by a city building official stating, "Demolition must not begin until an approved permit is in place."

A spokesperson for Dalhousie University says the work isn't demolition, but is actually preparation to remove hazardous materials such as lead paint and asbestos, which it says has been found on the premises.

"…contractors are currently removing materials to provide them access to the areas containing the hazardous materials." writes Janet Bryson in a statement. "The removal process will not begin until all required abatement measures are in place…Efforts will be made to salvage characteristic elements of the house."

Heritage advocates are urging the university to think about the property differently.

"Like many of the homes and structures that are at risk, there's a lot of potential for what we call adaptive reuse," says Emma Lang, head of the Heritage Trust of Nova Scotia.

She believes buildings like this should be given new life, particularly in a city in the midst of a housing crunch.

"There's so much more opportunity to use what exists, and that's really important for us today," she says. "There’s an environmental cost when we tear down these buildings, you’re reducing waste when you’re using the older structure, you’re recycling it by turning it into something."

Nova Scotia’s Heritage Property Act can put a pause on demolitions for 120 days, but there appears to be a catch.

In the case of this building, Halifax spokesperson Ryan Nearing told CTV News in an email that the city’s staff report does recommend heritage registration for 1245 Edward Street.

He says that report will tentatively go to the Heritage Advisory Committee July 27th, and only then would the pause on demolition begin, to allow the Committee time to make its own recommendation to Regional Council.

So the question for Walt and others is what will come first - Dalhousie’s demolition permit - or the Committee’s recommendation to council.

Walt says she would just like an opportunity to talk to the university about other options.

"Why not talk to us about what you could do to redevelop the property, talk to your neighbors," she says.

"Just don't tear it down, and then it's too late."