Ontario development company agrees to repair historic property

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The City of Moncton has reached an agreement with the owners of a downtown historic property that the city’s legal counsel said has become a danger to public safety.

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The tower of St. Bernard’s Rectory is in visible disrepair, leaning toward the sidewalk on Botsford Street. Timothy Bell, who represented the city in a court hearing on Monday, said the building has become a risk to public safety. City spokesperson Aloma Jardine told Brunswick News the city closed the surrounding sidewalk in April.

The 110-year-old vacant building was purchased by a couple in 2020 with plans to turn it into a boutique hotel, but when the pandemic put a stop to the project, it went back on the market and was purchased by Ontario-based developers Ras Can-Ind.

The company’s owner, Shubham Gupta, was in court on Monday after the city filed an application in September ordering that repairs be completed.

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Gupta and Bell came to an agreement during the hearing that work to properly dismantle the building’s tower until it can be restored will begin no later than Nov. 18 and be completed by Dec. 22.

Reading details agreed upon by both parties, Justice Christa Bourque said if Gupta fails to comply, the city can proceed to have the work done on its own and bill the company.

After the hearing, Gupta told reporters that he hired an architect to help with the project, but after six months of no progress, he began working with an engineer who told him it could be repaired without dismantling the tower. Then months later, the engineer told him it did need to be dismantled.

“It’s just been a back and forth,” he said.

Gupta said the plan is still to turn the property into a boutique hotel with plans to begin construction on that aspect of the project next year.

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The company has announced other development projects in Moncton, including an 85-unit condo building on Marsh Street and a shopping plaza in Dieppe. He said those projects are currently on hold, but the company still plans to move forward with the work in the future.

“They will be back on,” he said.

He said the pause is due to current market conditions, but said that it isn’t affecting smaller projects in Miramichi where the company is building houses.

Gupta lives in Toronto but said he became interested in New Brunswick after purchasing two golf courses in the province.

“When I came here, I liked this place. There was a lot of potential,” he said.

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