Work on a historic Halifax house owned by Dalhousie University is on hold after the municipality issued two notices and the Nova Scotia Department of Health and Safety visited the site Tuesday.
According to notices sent out by the city, the demolition of the house on Edward Street is being done without a permit. Halifax’s Heritage Advisory Committee is scheduled to hold a special meeting Friday to discuss whether the property should receive a heritage designation that protects properties from demolition.
“There was no communication from the owners, Dalhousie, at all … the guys turned up and it was obvious to us that the permit had not been issued, so everyone on the street was quite surprised that they came and started,” said Don Sinclair, who lives near to the green three-story house.
Sinclair said work had been going on for days at the house, which dates back to the late 19th century. He said the city came and issued an initial violation notice saying the work could not proceed until a permit was issued, but the work went ahead.
Peggy Walt, an activist and volunteer with the citizens’ group Development Options Halifax, said she was told crews were removing asbestos. But she said it’s obvious there’s more going on than that.
“When they started last week, I saw guys throwing things through the top floor windows. They were knocking wood, furniture, glass out of the windows and there was a huge pile of debris, moldings, rubber, sinks, tubs, toilets just piled up in the backyard,” Walt said.
Piles of debris, including wood and furniture, could be seen outside the house. (Paul Palmiter/CBC)
“This is after Dalhousie told us they were going to try to save some of the historic elements. Well, the moldings are going to landfill, I know that. So it’s a lot more than preparing for asbestos removal, I would say.”
Before work on the house was halted Tuesday, a statement from Dalhousie University to CBC News indicated the university was doing work to prepare the site to remove hazardous materials. There was a sign on the door saying it was asbestos.
“Dalhousie is currently doing work on the interior of the building at 1245 Edward St.” The work being completed is hazardous material abatement, which includes removal of wall panels,” the statement said.
“Dalhousie is confident that this work is carried out in a manner that complies with health and safety regulations and ensures the safety of both workers on site and neighbours. Dalhousie does not consider this work to be demolition requiring a permit.”
Sinclair said learning of the asbestos removal had “caused concern” on the street.
“There are families here with young children and no notification was given. And it didn’t seem, at least to me, that there was any kind of containment provided in the initial work that they were doing,” he said.
Peggy Walt hopes the house will receive heritage designation so it can be better protected in the future. (Paul Palmiter/CBC)
The university said someone from the province visited the house to fix an electrical problem involving temporary power from a neighboring building.
“Power is required during an abatement process to operate fans that are used when active work is in progress to prevent asbestos from escaping,” Dalhousie said in a statement.
“The power was immediately turned off and the house was sealed off to ensure continued safety as the fans were no longer working. The abatement process is suspended until we are able to provide a power source for the abatement process again.”
A spokesman for the provincial Department of Labor said most of the work on the house was being done in accordance with regulations, “however, the employer failed to provide an engineer-certified demolition plan as required by regulations.”
In the email, the department also noted that occupational health and safety officials “identified concerns related to temporary electrical devices powering the site’s ventilation. As a result, temporary electricity had to be removed, with no ventilation all work is currently at a standstill.’
The province’s occupational health and safety department issued three orders as a result of the site visit.
Servants from the countryside at the site of the house. (Paul Palmiter/CBC)
The home is believed to have been built sometime between 1897 and 1898, according to a report the heritage advisory committee will review Friday. The home was associated with prominent Halifax families of the 19th and 20th centuries, including businessmen William McCulloch Boak and Rudolph Alexander Hobrecker.
According to the HRM website, the Heritage Property program aims to preserve “buildings, streetscapes, sites, areas and precincts that reflect the rich heritage across the municipality”. Significant changes to the appearance of registered heritage property require review by the advisory committee.
“It was a beautiful, grand house when it was built at the time. Why not just wait and let the community review? See if the house has historical merit and if it will be preserved,” Walt said.
“What’s the big rush? They want to get it out of sight, out of mind as soon as possible.”
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