Saint John’s iconic jellybean houses survived the Great Fire of 1877, but it’s too early to say whether they will be rescued from the wrecking ball.
The city purchased the three jellybean buildings on Wellington Row when plans for Peel Plaza were first drafted, but now the city is looking to sell the properties.
If a buyer doesn’t come forward soon, the city could be left with yet another vacant lot.
“We’re going to put a (request for proposal) out to see if we can get some interest in some organizations coming in and reimagining them, getting them occupied, and we would hope that would happen within two years,” says Coun. John MacKenzie.
Saint John resident Joan Pearce has always had a keen interest in the history of the buildings. She says they were occupied before being purchased by the city, but now she is concerned about what the future might hold.
“So, the fact that the city finds itself with buildings it didn’t use, that they spent a huge amount of money on, and then didn’t warehouse them properly so that they deteriorated and they’ve deteriorated every year since, it’s really demolition by neglect,” says Pearce.
Information from a Service New Brunswick website indicates two of the properties are assessed at $15,000. The second is valued at a little more than $195,000.
MacKenzie says there have been a few developers who have shown interest in the properties. They’re hoping to hear from them over the next couple of weeks to see what their bids would be.
“We would probably be asking for a bond or some sort of a deposit to make sure that people that are doing it are serious about it, and we’d like that all to be done within a month,” says MacKenzie.
Pearce says she would like to see the properties sold for $1 each to a buyer willing to invest the time and the money necessary to restore them to their former glory.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Ashley Dunbar
