Atlantic Canadian Heritage Resources: A Long Term Investment

In the world of built heritage, Atlantic Canada possesses an embarrassment of riches. I don't know if it is because we have so many heritage buildings that we are not caring for them properly, or the fact that everyone here grew up- with them and therefore simply take them for granted. Whatever it is, we better wake up because this non-renewable resource is slipping away between out fingers!

I think that 's criminal. Heritage buildings which have not been identified and protected by the municipalities in which they sit are being demolished or modernized and our communities are the poorer for it !

These buildings are our landmarks and the touchstones to our past. Unfortunately, most people don't realize it until it’s too late. Ask anyone in your community, and I'll bet they can tell you the heritage buildings that shouldn't have been tom down. The Union Station in Saint John ... the Royal Alexandra Hotel in Winnipeg... and the Birks Building in Vancouver.

When we let these buildings slip through our fingers, we lose a lot .... and we're not just talking about a cultural loss. We're talking about money. Older buildings considerably outnumber newer ones and therefore represent the lion's share of property taxes in Atlantic Canada. If we allow these buildings to fall apart, we lose tax revenues. If we fix them up, we maintain our strength in property taxes and create jobs. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation has determined that for every. million dollars spent on new construction, almost 13 jobs are created.

Spend the same million on rehabilitating old buildings and you create almost 30 jobs. Not only are more than twice as many jobs created, but renovation materials can usually be bought locally, unlike many of the materials for new buildings which have to be shipped from outside of Atlantic Canada.

Old buildings are a remarkable environmental asset too. All the energy used to build them has already been spent and many of them are sound enough to remain standing for many years.There's no reason to waste energy building new ones which never seem to last as long or look as though they are really part of our communities!

I have a good example of this. In 1971, Greenspoon Brothers one of Toronto's big demolition companies - was asked to bid on tearing down the archaic and abandoned 1887 Toronto, Gas Works buildings. The death sentence was issued, but commuted by the most unlikely angel of mercy. Greenspoon Brothers inspected the complex, found it perfectly intact and instead of submitting a bid for its demolition, they bought the building and rehabilitated it for offices and the home of Toronto Free Theatre. So, even the guys who make a living tearing things down can tell you there's a profit in keeping old buildings alive.

There's all that tourist money, too. Just try to imagine the tourist trade in Britain or Europe if there were no heritage buildings. People aren't visiting Atlantic Canada to see our strip malls ... they come here to experience our wonderful culture. That means staying in Beds & Breakfasts and Inns, strolling down historic streets, browsing in fascinating little stores, and taking in entire countrysides dotted with old farms and farmhouses. I don't know how long it's going to take our municipal and provincial governments to tune in and to start protecting and more actively and creatively promoting the reuse of the best of our built past!

Heritage buildings are not a liability, they're an investment. They're not just important to you and me, they're important for our children and their children. I don't know about you, but I want my four children to be able to walk down the streets -and into buildings where Canada's history was made ... not just read about it in PierreBerton's books!

Ken Kelly is a principal with STELLINGKELLY Strategic Community Planners. He is a heritage planner and former governor of Heritage Canada who has worked with old buildings from coast to coast.

Atlantic Planners Institute

This page and all contents are produced by the Atlantic Planners Institute, an affiliate of the Canadian Institute of Planners.