New designs for New Brunswick Museum in Saint John released

Ottawa promises money to revitalize N.B. museum Ottawa and Fredericton have promised money to a project which hopes to revitalize a historic museum in New Brunswick.

A commitment of $108 million has been pledged for the New Brunswick Museum’s expanded Saint John collections and exhibition centre, with new designs for the project unveiled.

“This is the 45th time we’ve been up to bat,” said William Forrestall, New Brunswick Museum vice-chairperson, noting 44 previous attempts over 50 years to move a new museum project forward.“This time we hit it out of the park.”

A promise of $49.9 million in federal funding and $58 million in provincial funding was announced for the project on Monday.

A capital fundraising project is also underway for the new exhibition and collection space, scheduled to open in 2026.

Previous estimates have pegged the entire project at $150 million.

It was confirmed last summer the expanded space would be built as part of the museum’s original Douglas Avenue building, which opened in 1934.

'More than just a museum'

Toronto-based architectural firm, Diamond Schmitt, shared new renderings of the project at Monday’s funding announcement.

“It’s going to be more than just a museum space, but a community space as well,” said project architect Emily Baxter, who grew up in Saint John. “Working on this project is really a dream come true for me.”

“I think I had to pinch myself when we first won the project,” she added.

The 134,000-square-foot facility will maintain the historic facade of the 90-year-old building, and add new space for exhibitions, research, and public gatherings.

“The museum is going to have a stunning rooftop terrace that overlooks on the east Saint John Harbour, and on the west out to Marble Cove and the Saint John River,” says Baxter. “We’re really looking forward to bringing and giving those views back to the community.”

'This was the site'

The New Brunswick Museum has offered no permanent exhibition space to the public since Thanksgiving weekend of 2020, when heavy rain caused part of the roof to collapse at its former Market Square site.

The museum moved all items out of Market Square in October 2022.

All museum artifacts and research work have been moved to a facility on Lancaster Avenue.

The “search” for a new location never went far, according to New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs.

“There was a lot of debate about where it should go. Should it be here? Should it be there? For me, and I think for my colleagues, there wasn’t a debate,” said Higgs at Monday’s announcement. “This was the site.”

In 2017, Brian Gallant’s Liberal government made a commitment of $50 million for a new exhibition and collections centre in uptown Saint John. The project was cancelled shortly after the Higgs’ PC government was elected in 2018.

Later to reporters, Higgs said the 2017 project was cancelled in part due to its uptown location, adding “we can afford it at this time.”

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