Mahone Bay Old School_A Life and Times_Bob Sayer

Chapter Eleven:
New Life for an Old Building 2000-2007
The Establishment of The Mahone Bay Centre
The Fate of the Old School, 2000
The fate of the Old School hung in a delicate balance throughout the year
2000. There appeared to be three alternatives:
1 Sell the Property for Commercial Development of the Site
Once it reverted to town property, the town council planned to re-zone the
property so that the school could be sold, restructured or demolished, along
with the school land, and possibly developed commercially (see Lisa Brown’s
report on right), with a view to increasing the tax base. In December 2000,
council called for development proposals. Councillor Chris Heide voted
against the motion to ‘proceed with the disposal of the old school properties.’
2 Preserve the Building as some sort of Community Centre
There was some general talk of this alternative, but in June 2000, no substantial
organization had been formed to pursue the matter. Mayor Uhlman
spoke for council when she reported that maintaining the property was ‘absolutely
beyond our capabilities’.
3 The Old School be left Empty and Derelict
This is what had happened to a number of old buildings, particularly schools
and hospitals. The old Dawson Hospital in Bridgewater was a case in point.
And the Old School was left vacant for over a year. The third alternative
was the worst, but may well have been the reality had not the Mahone Bay
Centre Society emerged. For the Town received no serious proposals for the
development of the site.
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