Scenic N.S. town looking to sell historic 1890s schoolhouse, says can't afford upkeep

Lunenburg Academy is shown in a handout photo. A scenic town on Nova Scotia’s South Shore is looking to sell a prominent schoolhouse designated as a National Historic Site because it can’t afford its upkeep. (Lunenburg Academy Foundation)

LUNENBURG, N.S. — A prominent former schoolhouse in the scenic Nova Scotia town of Lunenburg is up for sale because the community can't afford the costs of maintaining the national historic site.

Lunenburg Academy, which dates back to 1895, is a three-storey Victorian-style building often referred to as the castle on the hill. The building served as a school until 2012 and now operates as a community cultural centre.

The town has paid nearly $2 million in capital and operating costs since 2012 and last year asked the Lunenburg Academy Foundation whether it wanted to buy the building, which sits atop Gallows Hill.

In an interview Wednesday, foundation president Rachel Bailey said her organization was caught off guard at the time but has since hired a consultant to do a feasibility study on a potential purchase.

"We certainly weren't anticipating an opportunity or a requirement to buy the building, and as a volunteer board we needed some time to digest what that might look like," Bailey said. The study, she added, expected at the end of May, is to recommend the best ownership model for the academy.

News of the sale came to light in a report by local news outlet the Lunenburg Barnacle, which published a letter from the town to Parks Canada saying that it wanted to sell the academy and the land surrounding it. The letter was obtained through a freedom of information request.

"We did recently become aware of the correspondence that had left the door open for the property to fall into private hands, presumably if we were not able to assume ownership," Bailey said. "That was a very disappointing development for us. We thought it should be without question that the building remain as a public entity."

Bailey distributed a letter on April 13 to foundation members detailing the building's financial situation and the foundation's dealings with the town. It noted a financial shortfall of just over $713,000 over the past 10 years, but added that revenue had recently increased as the building was developed and new tenants brought on board. The letter said a small surplus was registered in 2022 based on revenues of $240,894. The foundation also recently raised $1.5 million through a capital funding campaign.

Lunenburg Mayor Matt Risser said the operating and capital costs of the building would equate to more than $100 a year per household in the town of 2,400 people.

"Being a small cash-strapped town, that's an excessive burden and so we are exploring the option with the foundation of divesting it (the academy) to them," Risser said. "If the foundation is unable to take it over, that's a bridge council will have to cross when they come to it."

He said it's still possible the town could retain the building if there's no sale, but he adds that a plebiscite would have to be held on raising taxes in order to help pay for it.

"My fervent hope is that the foundation is able to assume ownership in light of the town's offer," said Risser, who is stepping down as mayor next month.

Parks Canada says Lunenburg Academy was designated a national historic site of Canada in 1983 because "it is a rare survivor from Nova Scotia's 19th-century academy system of education."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 19, 2023.