(Mark Leger/Huddle)
Local developer Percy Wilbur has purchased the historic Gothic Arches building in the city centre. He plans to tear it down and construct an apartment building that could be as high as eight storeys with up to 90 units, targeting the increasing number of Baby Boomers looking to move into the urban core.
Wilbur, who bought and restored the historic building at the corner of Charlotte and Germain that now houses Jones Gallery and residential units on the upper floors, has been looking for other development opportunities in the city centre.
He investigated the possibility of preserving the Gothic Arches building, which is on the city’s dangerous and vacant buildings list, and had it inspected by architects and engineers from Moncton and Halifax. All of them said the Wentworth Street building, which has been deteriorating for decades and unheated for 10 years, is too far gone.
“It’s literally falling down,” said Wilbur in an interview Wednesday afternoon. “There are pieces of the towers that have separated from the building and they’re now leaning out towards the street to the point where my insurance company said…they might not even be able to insure it.”
Wilbur understands the sentimental value of the building, a stone Gothic Revival Church that was constructed in 1878, the year after the Great Saint John Fire of 1877. But there isn’t anything that can be done to save it, he says.
“Unfortunately we are going to have to tear it down and we’re going to replace it with a luxury apartment building,” he said.
Before he made the purchase, though, he spent some time talking to people in the neighbourhood about his plans.
“We visited every single immediate neighbour of that building and met with overwhelming support for what we’re doing,” said Wilbur. “That was really reassuring and allowed me to go further and make the purchase. They’re the ones who have been living with this hazard beside them…There’s a lot of bricks on the ground. There are shingles [from the building] all over the neighbourhood.”
“They’re happy because it’s no longer going to be a danger or a hazard to them. We’ve also explained to them what we plan to do with the new building. It’s going to be beautiful; architecturally pleasing. It will have red brick and stucco columns that fit in well in the neighbourhood.”
Wilbur is still working on the final design for the building, but he says it will be between six- and eight-storeys high with 75-to-90 units, 1,000- to-1,400-square-feet each. It will have a gym, spa and common room. He wants the building to be welcoming and social, and he has creative ideas to give it that atmosphere.
“We want our building to be busy in the lobby so that people aren’t coming home to a cold, lonely building,” he said. “To keep it busy, it would be nice to have local lecturers come in and give talks about architecture or art history. We want it to be part of the community.”
Wilbur is targetting “empty-nesters” for this complex – late-middle-agers who want to downsize.
“There are people that want to move to the city core from Millidgeville and the Kennebecasis Valley,” said Wilbur. “I’ve spoken to a lot of them who are ’empty-nesters.’ They don’t need the big home, they don’t need the travel back and forth every day. But they need something that’s large and spacious and safe and secure in a nice neighbourhood. They’re willing to move [for the right place].”
Percy Wibur redeveloped the historic building at One Charlotte Street. It now houses a gallery and residential units on the upper floors. (Mark Leger/Huddle)
Wilbur says recent studies show there is an immediate need for 300 units of this kind and perhaps as many as 1,000 in the next few years. Even with recent projects like the new Historica apartment complex on King Street that cater to the same market, he says there is still a need for more options.
He credits the group of developers who recognized the opportunity to create new housing options for people who wanted the benefits of uptown living.
“You can walk to work and walk to the festivals, walk to the restaurants. The core has been revitalized thanks to people like Keith Brideau, Gary Spicer, Mike Cavanaugh and John Irving. They’ve really helped allow people like myself to invest in the city. They’ve given us the confidence to go ahead and do this.”
Steve Carson, the CEO of Develop Saint John, says Wilbur has a good read on the market.
“There’s a shortage of available properties in the Uptown right now,” said Carson in a release. “People want to move here, but we don’t have the housing they’re looking for – yet, that is. Percy’s proposed new units will help correct that shortfall and will help attract new residents and add vitality to our Uptown. There’s renewed vibrancy and demand for residential spaces in our Uptown, and these new high-end apartments will give people who want to live Uptown more and different products to choose from.”
Wilbur plans to demolish the building some time this year and start construction in the spring. He plans to have the building complete and ready for occupancy within two years.
A version of this story was published in Huddle, an online business news publication based in Saint John. Huddle is an Acadia Broadcasting content partner.
