Work halted at site of new museum
Old Sydney Society issued stop work order at former BMO building
Work at a new museum in downtown Sydney has been stopped after the municipality failed to receive the proper requirements for a building permit.
The Cape Breton Regional Municipality issued a stop work order to the Old Sydney Society on Wednesday for work taking place at the former Bank of Montreal building on Charlotte Street.
The Bank of Montreal donated the building to the Old Sydney Society after it moved to a new facility on Prince
Street in Sydney last year.
The society officially received the keys to the building last fall, and planned to use the building as a museum.
Paul Burt, Cape Breton Regional Municipality manager of building, planning and licensing laws, said the municipality is waiting for building plans before a building permit is issued.
“They have submitted an application and the plans were originally rejected and we have not received a new set of plans,” he said.
Joyce Rankin, executive director of the Old Sydney Society, said the society did have plans drawn up by an architect.
“We thought that would be an appropriate thing to do, but the problem is that the plans that were drawn up, Bob Ojolick did them for us as a donation, and he didn’t do an architect stamp on them and then he gave up his practice.
“When we passed them in to the building inspector, they said they needed an architect stamp, but at that point it was too late, he (Bob) had given up his practice and could not stamp them.”
The stamp is required to move forward, said Burt.
“That category of building, they’re creating a museum, which under the building code requires any plans to be stamped or endorsed by either a professional engineer or an architect.”
The original plans were rejected by the municipality at the end of January. The plans were sent back to the owners of the building, the Old Sydney Society, with a letter indicating what was required.
Burt confirmed he had a couple of conversations with the owners or the owners’ representative.
“I believe they are having a hard time finding an engineer or an architect, however, there is still a requirement to have a building permit,” said Burt. “It’s still a requirement for plans for that type of building to be stamped by a licensed engineer and licensed architect, that’s all we are waiting for.”
Rankin said the society is disappointed with the situation.
“We have been unable to find someone to do that (stamp the plans) because an architect doesn’t stamp someone else’s work,” she said. “We are working to find a solution to it.”
The building, located at the corner of Charlotte Street and Dorchester streets, was constructed in 1899 during the steel industry’s economic boom. The unique architectural appeal and historical significance secured its recognition as a registered municipal heritage property.
In February, the Old Sydney Society received funding of $175,000 through the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency’s Innovative Communities Fund, which the society planned to use on the renovations, which included two bathrooms and handicap access.
The museum will feature Cape Breton and Sydney history, artifacts as well as electronic and new designs that are in museums in other parts of the country. The total cost of the renovations, including displays, was expected to be around $350,000.
The Old Sydney Society was
hoping to have the museum ready by May 1 for the start of cruise ship season.
Rankin said the goal is still to have the museum ready to go for cruise ship passengers.
“It depends on how quickly this can resolved, the work is very minor, there’s nothing structural or major being done,” she said. “We have things under control and we’re doing things by the book, in fact we are going beyond the code in some cases, but we’re hoping it will get done.”
“We have a backup plan,” said Rankin. “If you commit to the cruise ship program, which we did, you have to deliver, so we knew that when we signed on, so we have a backup plan and we will follow through on our commitment.”
Burt said the municipality has been working with the building owners, but has not received any new plans to date.
“They were made aware of what the requirement was for that building plan,” he said. “A reasonable amount of time had passed and we did not get what we were looking for, so we had no choice but to issue a stop work order, so we can issue a permit and make sure everything is done according to code.”
“Once we receive the plans we will do a plan review and if everything is up to code and meets our standards, we will very quickly issue the permit and remove the stop work order,” he said. “It’s not a lengthy process, but we need the plans.”
The first cruise ship of the season is expected to arrive in Sydney on April 30 and as of now it’s unknown if the museum will be ready in time for the visit.