Dismantling of historic Barbour's General Store to go ahead as planned

The City of Saint John is going ahead with a plan to dismantle the historic and fire-damaged Barbour's General Store. 

The late 1860s building sits in the city's uptown, overlooking the harbour and a section of waterfront that is currently undergoing a complete makeover. It has served as a tourist attraction and retail outlet in the past.

Mayor Donna Reardon said the city is simply following through on the wishes of G.E. Barbour, the company that owns the building. 

"At the end of the day, we, the City of Saint John and the owner of the building, came to an agreement on its future and that is basically the plan that Saint John is sticking with," said Reardon. 

Saint John heritage architect and developer Jim Bezanson said he offered to buy the building and pay to have it repaired. He said his preference was to keep the building where it is, but said "apparently that's not in the cards." 

He said he's now willing to move the building. He also said he has a "verbal agreement" with the G.E. Barbour to buy the building and a mover "on speed dial."

But Coun. Paula Radwan said there is no agreement. She said the company has already turned the building over to the city and wants the city to dismantle it and salvage anything historically valuable. She said lawyers have confirmed those wishes and that is what the city will follow through with. 

CBC News made several attempts to reach someone with G.E. Barbour, but no one responded to a request for an interview. 

 The building, which was given to the city in 1967 by the founder of G. E. Barbour as part of Canada's Centennial celebrations, was damaged by fire in January 2022.

Radwan laments the loss of the building, but says the city doesn't have the power to save it. She said the city doesn't own the building and must follow through on what the owner wants to do. 

"There's not much you can do when you don't own the building," she said.

In an emailed statement last month, G.E. Barbour Inc. president Jeff Rose said the building will be demolished because "investigations into repair and relocation of the Store over the past months have proven difficult and the results economically unfeasible."

Radwan said early estimates put the repair cost at $315,000. 

She said whatever can be saved is being salvaged, but "some of it was in such bad shape that as staff were trying to remove items they were falling apart in their hands."