11 September 2009
NB Liquor Makes Tracks to Station
Better days ahead: NB Liquor is taking over the York
Street Train Station, where it plans
to build a liquor store.
Frederiction New Brunswick - Fredericton's historic
train station is getting a new lease on life.
The provincial government has given NB Liquor the OK to rent the Fredericton landmark owned by J.D. Irving Ltd.
"A deal has been negotiated with JDI for NB Liquor to lease the refurbished York Street Train Station," said
Fredericton-Silverwood MLA Rick Miles on Thursday.
The York Street Train Station has been a focal point of debate over heritage properties in the city. In recent years, residents have
grown concerned that the roof would collapse in winter under the weight of heavy snow.
Details of the lease deal weren't available Thursday.
While a media conference is expected next week, Premier Shawn Graham let out word of the deal during a funding announcement Thursday
for the Fredericton YMCA.
"We're going to be back here soon for another important announcement for a little railway station down at the bottom of the
hill," he said.
Officials from J.D. Irving said they continue to pursue a development on the site that will facilitate the restoration of the train
station.
"We are hopeful of good news in the near future. We are unable to comment further," said company spokesman Geoff Britt.
NB Liquor CEO Dana Clendenning confirmed there's an agreement, but he wouldn't discuss specifics, such as the price.
"The terms and conditions are still being kept confidential", he said. "They're not finalized. We will have a press
conference next week".
Clendenning did say the location will be run as a corporate store that will have a unique design and unique services.
He said the Crown corporation likes the location given the easy access, ample parking and the store's proximity to the downtown,
residential areas, and university campuses.
NB Liquor was criticized for its decision to abandon the downtown when it closed its store on King Street last year.
The new store, he said, will be about twice the size of the King Street one.
The liquor store deal, which will see the property rejuvenated, is expected to help spur commercial development on about eight acres
of surrounding land, Miles said.
"It's hoped that this project will stimulate redevelopment in that area of the city," he said. "It's been eyesore for
too long."
With the cost of restoring the train station pegged at $2 million, J.D. Irving said it would need to redevelop the property in the
context of a larger business venture.
Mayor Brad Woodside said it was time for something to get done.
"I think this is as good as it gets in terms of news for Frederictonians. I say that because we have been subjected to this
eyesore for so long," Woodside said from Collingwood, Ont., where he's attending meetings of the board of the Federation of
Canadian Municipalities.
Woodside has been vocal about the need to do something to the property.
"I meant what I said... People have been upset with me every time I stood up and made it an issue, but I was determined to see a
resolution."
Under the Heritage Railways Stations Protection Act, the owner of a historic train station isn't obliged to fix it up, but must get a
ministerial order from the federal Environment Department to alter the structure or demolish it.
The nature of the federal legislation left the city powerless to intervene, Woodside said.
"There was absolutely nothing that I could have done. If there was, I felt seriously enough that I would have taken someone to
court."
Tim Scammell, president of Fredericton Friends of the Railway Inc., a community group that has pressed decision-makers to
keep the station from crumbling, welcomed the news.
"I think that's absolutely wonderful. We've been waiting six long years for this," he said Thursday.
"I always said I don't care who goes in and takes care of it, as long as it's fixed. I'm glad it's going to be saved because
otherwise we were heading down that track of being lost forever."
Members of Branch 4 of the Royal Canadian Legion were reportedly working on a proposal to buy the station.
The choice was logical, members said, given that the last glimpse of home for many local servicemen who served in the two world wars
was the train station.
Clendenning said NB Liquor acknowledges that the station played a pivotal role in the lives of many New Brunswickers and especially
those who headed off to war.
"We are discussing ways of recognizing the role that the station played in the transportation of veterans to and from the Second
World War."
Shawn Berry.
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