Halifax heritage building slated for demolition saved by appeal court decision

Global News

22-05-2025

A century-old Victorian home in south-end Halifax has been saved from the wrecking ball, thanks to a Nova Scotia Court of Appeal decision.
The battle surrounding the 128-year-old house at 1245 Edward St. has been long and mired in legal proceedings.
Sandra Barrs, the past president of the Heritage Trust of Nova Scotia, applauds the court's latest decision and believes the house has a history worth saving.
She says everything about the home — from its small turret to its arched windows — offers a glimpse into the past.
'It has been part of the fabric of this neighbourhood for (nearly) 130 years,' she said.
Dalhousie University originally bought the lot in July 2021 for $1 million with the intention of demolishing the Victorian home.
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The next year, the university told Halifax council the house would require significant costs to fix — something the university didn't want to take on. The university received a demolition permit in July 2022, despite a grassroots effort by neighbours to block it.
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'A neighbourhood group, the Halifax University Neighbourhood Association, got involved,' said Barrs. 'They didn't want to see the property simply demolished because there was no plan to do anything with it, just simply demolish it and leave the lot vacant.'
In October 2022, municipal councillors voted to add the lot to its Registry of Heritage Properties, prompting Dalhousie to file a notice for a judicial review.
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N.S. judge puts end to Halifax's heritage designation for south end property
A Nova Scotia Supreme Court ruling in November 2023 put an end to the heritage designation, and stated council had wrongly decided that a heritage registration could be granted to a group other than the property owner.
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'There is a reasonable apprehension of an attitude of closed-mindedness at the (Heritage Advisory Committee) level, and a reasonable apprehension of bias at the HRM Council level – a bread-crumb trail that led to a clearly unreasonable result,' Justice Peter Rosinski wrote in part.
That led the municipality to seek a judicial review from the Court of Appeal, which dismissed the university's claims and said the council's decision was fair and reasonable.
The province's highest court also confirmed that Halifax council could award heritage status to a property following a request by a party other than the property's owner.
'We were happy to read not only that the allegations of procedural unfairness were dismissed, but more importantly, that third party registrations of heritage structures was accepted as being with merit,' said Barrs.
In a statement to Global News, a Dalhousie University spokesperson said, 'we accept the appeal court's decision.'
'Dalhousie remains committed to finding the right balance between preservation of our most iconic buildings and development that supports continued university and municipal growth,' wrote Michael Fleury.
— with a file from The Canadian Press