A group of non-profit organizations in the north end of Halifax have been given their chance to make a case to convert an old school into a community centre.

The first battle over St. Patrick's-Alexandra School began about a year ago, but there could be a lot more fighting left to be done.

The school will not face the wrecking ball, for now, after the Nova Scotia Supreme Court ruled in favour of the groups, who opposed the city’s decision to sell the shuttered downtown school to a developer.

The Richard Preston Centre for Excellence Society, the Micmac Native Friendship Society, and the North End Community Health Association won the right to present a plan for turning the school into a community centre.

“I think that’s a great thing,” says one area resident. “It’s good for the community. It’s good for downtown Halifax.”

“I think it’s great that people can actually fight for something and actually have a chance,” says another.

The Nova Scotia Supreme Court has ruled that the City of Halifax violated its own policy in selling the school to Jono Developments for a housing complex, without giving non-profit organizations a chance to present their own plan.

“If HRM was allowed to do what it was trying to do in this community, it wouldn’t be long before it was doing the same thing in other communities,” says community leader Rhonda Britton. “So, we feel like it’s a victory for the entire city.”

“A judge has said ‘yes, this is the rightful thing to do. You do need to the give the community a fair shot,’ and so, go back and do that,” says Jane Maloney of the North End Health Centre.

While the community groups are elated by the judge’s decision, they also know this is simply one step in a long process still to come.

The court’s decision can be appealed, but so far the only response from Halifax City Hall has been an email saying the decision is under review.

Mayoral candidate Mike Savage says the whole process is flawed.

“Nobody won. When you’ve got community groups that are trying to do the right thing, who haven’t won,” says Savage. “You have a developer, and he hasn’t won.”

Developer Joe Metledge also says he is reviewing the decision, but he has said in the past that he would sue the city if the project fails to proceed.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Ron Shaw