Save The Caretaker’s House at Holy Cross Cemetery
1259 South Park Street
Caretaker’s House 1259 South Park Street
The Archdiocese of Halifax-Yarmouth wants to demolish The Caretaker’s House at 1594 South Park Street. This building is 160+ years old, and holds not one, but two heritage designations. This loss would be a blow to Halifax’s history and character.
With your help, we can remind the Archdiocese of what it means to be a good neighbour and convince the Church to do its civic duty in preserving The Caretaker’s House in a way that honours its legacy.
Why is The Caretaker’s House so important?
The Caretaker’s House at Holy Cross Cemetery was built in 1851 and has significant associations with the early Catholic church in Halifax, the Holy Cross Cemetery, and the Irish population of Halifax.
This beautiful home was built in the late Georgian style from the early Victorian period. Georgian-style buildings are simpler and less adorned than the more decorated buildings of the mid-to-late Victorian period that followed it. As such, this building stands out from the South Park Victorian Streetscape and serves as an important piece of the puzzle in the architectural history of our city.
The Caretaker’s home became part of the Schmidtville Heritage Conservation District in 2018 and with that gained legal protection from redevelopment. Saving this historic building from demolition saves not only its legacy, but is a step towards preserving the entire Schmidtville streetscape.
Why is a Heritage Building up for Demolition?
Section 16 (1) (b) of the province’s Heritage Property Act allows for deregistration and demolition of badly damaged municipally-registered buildings BUT deregistration is NOT allowed where "the loss of the heritage value was caused by neglect, abandonment or other action or inaction of the owner". (emphasis added) This phenomenon is called “demolition by neglect.”
The Archdiocese neglected the house by leaving it vacant for many years with little to no maintenance. Squatters occupied it and worsened its condition. Recently, the Archdiocese boarded up and secured the house. Soon after, it applied for a demolition permit.
This house is owned by an institution that owes a duty of neighbourliness to local residents and the city. But instead of being good neighbours, the Church is pushing the idea that the property is beyond redemption.
Why should we save it?
This home is not beyond redemption. Building owners attempting to evade regulation often exaggerate the condition of their property and ignore their own role in its decline. Houses in even worse shape than The Caretaker’s House have been successfully renovated or repurposed to provide necessary housing for real people.
Community organizations have offered the Church resources to remediate and renovate the building.
The nearby 1320 Queen Street is an excellent example of how, with the right funding from the city, a heritage home was renovated into ten (10) units while keeping its structural integrity and historic appearance.
Beyond its historic value, saving The Caretaker’s House provides an opportunity for much needed affordable housing for our neighbours. Here’s what we know:
We are in the middle of a housing crisis
Older buildings provide affordable accommodation or can be renovated to do so
Demolition is a double whammy for the climate upfront emissions released when building materials are manufactured are wasted and manufacturing replacement materials for new construction create more upfront emissions.
Older, stable neighbourhoods provide community, social cohesion and diversity impossible to replicate otherwise
Demolition by neglect is simply bad neighbour behaviour. We need to call it what it is.
Here’s how you can help save The Caretaker’s House
Write to HRM Planner Carter Beaupre-Mcphee (carter.beaupre-mcphee@halifax.ca) and let him know you don’t want to see The Caretaker’s House demolished
Write to Archbishop Brian Dunn (bdunn@halifaxyarmouth.org) and tell him to:
Cancel the application to demolish the Caretaker’s House
Find a way to repurpose the building while maintaining its heritage character