After sitting empty for more than a decade, plans are in the works to transform St. Vincent’s High School into an apartment complex in Saint John.
“Considering it’s a repurposing of a building, an existing building, of course the apartments there will be fairly large because, of course, the interior walls are already up,” says board chairman Kevin MacDonald. “However, my feeling is that it will be a unique facility.”
St. Vincent’s High School graduated its last class in 2002 and the building has sat vacant since then. The idea to repurpose it into apartments has been floating around for a while, but it didn’t become a reality until last year, when McDonald started collaborating with the Diocese of Saint John, which owns the property.
“We have really moved forward at a rapid speed and we want to continue that,” says McDonald. “It appears now there’s a strong likelihood that the shovel will be in the ground in 2016.”
The board expects it will be able to build 37 apartments, which will cater to both low and high-income singles, families and seniors.
“It’s very important in this city. The bright side of it in my mind again is that if we get more of these, we’re going to be able to move people into them and tear down some of the dilapidated ones that, unfortunately, people are living in,” says city councillor Bill Farren.
The project is expected to cost around $6 million. McDonald says he expects the money to come from the provincial government, lenders and supporters of the project, including the Diocese of Saint John.
If all goes as planned, the board says residents could move in by the spring of 2017.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Ashley Blackford
