15 May 2007
Is the Roundhouse Doomed?
Kentville Nova Scotia - The Nova Scotia Railway Heritage
Society is worried about plans to demolish the former railway roundhouse in Kentville.
Society president Jay Underwood says their 50-plus individual members are prepared to assist the Town of Kentville to
lobby the provincial and federal governments for financial assistance to ensure the building doesn't disappear from the landscape.
The society believes the roundhouse is an ideal candidate to be declared a heritage property.
At a recent council advisory committee (CAC) meeting, Torgny Vigerstad of Environmental Solutions gave an update on the status of land
recovery on the Kentville futures site, also known as the former CP Rail land. He said the roundhouse has been vacated and would be
removed this summer. The cost to renovate the building would likely exceed $1.5 million and it would not be feasible. The renovation
would bring the structure to the level of a warehouse only, with further costs associated with other uses. He said there's likely
little contamination around the roundhouse and is hopeful the debris could be disposed of at a construction and demolition waste
facility or used in another aspect of construction on the property. He suggested that an engineering firm be contracted to dispose of
the materials and to ensure that materials are recycled where possible.
Council voted in favour of demolishing the roundhouse at the Wednesday, 9 May 2007 session. At the same meeting, council
voted in favour of continued remediation of the Kentville futures site, based on a maximum expenditure of $500,000 for the
2007-2008 fiscal year.
Vigerstad stated at the recent CAC meeting that $250,000 would pay for the demolition and clean-up of the roundhouse and
the preparation of roadways on the property. Another $175,000 would be needed to meet targets of testing, monitoring and preparing
reports on the subject site.
Last of its Kind
In a letter to Kentville Mayor Dave Corkum copied to federal Heritage Minister Bev Oda, Underwood wrote that this is the last railway
roundhouse of its kind in Nova Scotia and one of only a handful left in Canada. It was built shortly after Canadian Pacific took over
the Dominion Atlantic in 1912. It was rebuilt in brick in the 1920s and expanded in the 1940s to service and repair up to 10 steam
locomotives at a time. "The society feels the roundhouse should continue to serve the residents of Kentville, providing an
adaptable landmark in the heart of town, unique to the town's history as a centre of transportation and commerce," Underwood
wrote.
In 1958, the roundhouse became home to the first diesel locomotives on the Dominion Atlantic when the railway modernized. In the 1970s,
the building was rented to serve as a juice warehouse for the apple industry. He said characteristics of roundhouses have led to the
successful reuse of the buildings in other communities in North America for functions as diverse as arts centres, farmer's markets and
microbreweries. The Dominion Atlantic once employed more than a third of the workers in Kentville, most of them in the roundhouse and
the attached shops. Underwood said trains helped to build the Valley's agriculture and tourism industries.
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