‘It was the place to be’: Former bakery among nearly 30 Cape Breton buildings slated for demolition

A Cape Breton man is resisting demolition orders on a Whitney Pier building damaged during Hurricane Fiona.

A well-known building on Meadow Street in Whitney Pier, N.S., used to be home to Bernie’s Bakery – a stapl e in the community for decades. Now, it’s empty, boarded up, and set to be demolished.

“The steel workers – this was their home,” said Bernie Kokoska, the building’s longtime owner and namesake of the former business. “This was where they got their pizza, their bread for their sandwiches at the steelworks. It was the place to be.”

The building has been empty for years and suffered major damage during post-tropical storm Fiona in September 2022.

“It ripped more than 25 per cent of the roof off and then went inside like a wrecking train, destroying everything in its path,” said Kokoska.

Despite the storm damage, 82-year-old Kokoska has been repeatedly denied for federal Disaster Financial Assistance. It’s a decision he has been fighting for about three years.

“I would say it’s just bureaucratic nonsense,” said Kokoska.

Recently, a demolition order was posted to the front door by the Cape Breton Regional Municipality.

However, the former bakery location has gotten a temporary reprieve from the wrecking ball after Kokoska opposed the demolition decision at a recent council meeting.

“We did allow him a little more time to be able to try to come in and work with staff to make a project happen there,” said CBRM councillor Eldon MacDonald.

The building was also granted municipal heritage status back in 2020, which MacDonald said could delay potential demolition by as much as three years.

Still, it was one of nearly 30 buildings identified by new municipal staff hired to focus on the longstanding problem of dealing with derelict properties.

“So people are going to see things pick up,” said MacDonald. “More properties are going to get cited. We don’t usually have 28 come to us in a full 12-month period and staff have indicated to us that they are coming back with another list in August.”

Kokoska insists he has plans to restore it the building, adding he spent about $40,000 on interior renovations before Fiona hit.

“What I will do is put a new roof on, clean up the yard, paint it white and red which will be the Polish colours,” said Kokoska. “It’s going to look fantastic. But right now, I’m looking for some help from EMO (Emergency Management Operations).”

As for the broader issue of abandoned buildings, MacDonald said if the August list for immediate demolition or cleanup is anything like the one the staff came up with this month there could be 40 to 50 derelict properties dealt with by year’s end.

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