 2009 |
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 19 September 2009 Today is a Day of Celebration  Above is an artist's rendition of what the new NB Liquor store incorporating the York Street train station will look like. Work on the project is scheduled to begin next month, and the new store and refurbished station are to open in August 2010. 
Frederiction New Brunswick - The refurbishment of the York Street
train station is expected to begin as early as next month as the historic structure gets a new lease on life as a liquor store.
Work on the building's deteriorating roof will be done first as J.D. Irving Ltd. and NB Liquor aim to have the building ready for an August 2010 opening. "The building will return to its former glory as a centrepiece of historic architecture in our downtown," said Finance Minister Greg Byrne, the MLA for "It's a dramatic transformation and very much a welcome change from what the building looks like today." The Crown corporation has signed a Mayor Brad Woodside, who repeatedly called for the station to be repaired or razed, welcomed official word of the deal Friday. "I've said probably just about anything that can be said about the train station over the years," he said. "Today is a day of celebration. I'm not looking back. I'm just glad to be here. I am more than confident that NB Liquor and Irving are going to do us proud in this redevelopment. Yes, it's been a long time - there's no doubt about it. But we're here and that's the great news today." The exterior of the building is to be restored by J.D. Irving in accordance with the Heritage Railway Stations Preservation Act. NB Liquor said the interior brick walls will remain intact and the building's historical detail will be incorporated into the final interior design. Work is expected to begin in the coming weeks. "We've just received permission from Parks Canada to replace the roof. We're working on that right now and you should see some activity on the site very shortly," said Stew Valcour, The work will be the first firm sign of progress at the station, built in 1923, which sits fenced off and in disrepair. Valcour said he's pleased to have a deal to rejuvenate the station. "I'm very happy to be here today, we had several folks to the altar, but we've never gotten married," he said, noting that over the years there have been other efforts to restore the station as part of other proposed commercial developments. He said the company's been trying to do so since it acquired the station in 1995 as part of a purchase of rail lines from Canadian Pacific Railways, four years after the property was protected under federal heritage guidelines. Valcour welcomed the fact that as a liquor store, the station will be open to the public. "Some of the other people we had been talking to were private companies, and unfortunately, if that had taken place, the space wouldn't be open to the public." The new addition at the rear will be built like a standard liquor store. A baggage shed that was added onto the station isn't part of the heritage designation and will be removed as part of the work. The train station portion will house a specialty wine boutique, a "We'll try to involve restaurateurs and our wine merchants and do food and wine pairings in that space. We hope it will become a very active food destination, a place where you go to sample restaurant fare and wine that has been matched," said NB Liquor CEO Dana Clendenning. Valcour acknowledged the frustration of those who felt Irving should have covered the estimated $2 million cost of repairs on its own. "We're not very happy with the state of the building today, but frankly we were working and have been working behind the scenes for a number of years to get a viable commercial project that would help us justify the costs of the restoration. That is the plain and simple answer." Shawn Berry.  |
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