Saint John non-profits plan to renovate shuttered north end home

Three Saint John non-profits are hoping their upcoming renovation project will be a first step ineasing the housing shortage in the port city.

The Saint John Tool Library, Land Bank and One Change will renovate a boarded-up home in the city's north end.

They hope to attract volunteers to work on the projectin September.

Brent Harris, founder of the tool library, said there are plenty of good structures in the city that could house people, but they have been neglected and need lots of work to make them habitable again.

"If you go around this block you're gonna see about a dozen boarded-up buildings," said Harris.

"So we have to have some sort of proof of concept."

Harris said the building the group has chosen has "the best bones" of the ones available to them and has the potential for the most units.

He said the groups hope to find 40 volunteers that will help them strip the interior of the structure on the weekend of Sept. 14.

Tool library organizers to renovate abandoned house

5 years ago

Duration 1:00

The Saint John Tool Library is teaming up with non-profits to renovate an abandoned house in the north end to provide more housing for people in need.

"The city will have to do an inspection on things they can now see since we've gutted it," said Harris.

"From there the Saint John Land Bank, One Change and us are gonna be talking about next steps."

Harris said there are more than 50 structures in the old north end that could be renovated and used as housing, but they are being left to sink further into disrepair.

He said this has a negative impact on the community, scaring away potential residents and giving the impression to current residents that the neighbourhood is one to get away from.

"If [that wasn't] the case I wonder how many people would put down roots," said Harris.

"You would see more organizations develop, more community-like citizen engagement would occur. But without that, neighborhoodstories and identities just become poisoned over time."