New life for historic building
Robertson building in Barrington Passage undergoing renovation
For 110 years, what is known as the Robertson building has stood stately on the corner of Highway 3 and Station Road in the heart of Barrington Passage.
For the first 72 years (1909-1981) the building operated as a bank, first for the Union Bank of Halifax, then in 1910 it became the Royal Bank of Canada after that financial institution absorbed the Union Bank of Halifax. It remained an RBC branch until 1981, when a new more modern branch was built on adjacent land.
The historic building was gifted to the Municipality of Barrington by the RBC, serving as the local branch of the Western Counties Regional Library for many years, then as an adult learning centre for the Shelburne County Learning Network.
Declaring the building surplus, the Municipality of Barrington issued a request for proposals to purchase the building in 2017.
The opportunity was not lost on Natasha Mood-Nickerson.
“It’s such a beautiful building,” says Mood-Nickerson. “I wanted to keep it here for everyone to enjoy.”
Mood-Nickerson is renovating the interior of the building into the Salty Shores Inn and Café. Downstairs will be the café, which should be up and running by next spring.
“It will be a lunch spot,” says Mood-Nickerson. “The focus will be nice coffees and a nice place to hang out, something along the lines of Sip Café but not as big.”
Upstairs are two modern hotel rooms, with all the amenities one would expect to find while travelling. Mood-Nickerson hopes to have the inn operating by the end of the year.
“I definitely see a need. A lot of business people come through here and end up having to stay in Shelburne or Yarmouth,” she says.
“During the lobster season a lot of people come through here: buyers and sellers. I’ve already had requests. The area has a lot to offer,” she says, noting it is a central location in the Municipality of Barrington and in the Barrington Passage business district, close to the multi-purpose trail, shopping and services.
Mood-Nickerson has tried to keep as many original elements of the building as she can through the renovation process. The bank vault is being renovated into a walk-in refrigerator. The unique, upperfloor triangle windows have been preserved, as have the first-floor windows, which were covered over with aluminum storm windows for many years.
“As soon as we took them off the building had new life again,” says Mood-Nickerson.
New windows that open had to be installed on the front of the building upstairs to meet the fire code standards. The stairway spindles were also not up to code so are being replaced and incorporated into the historic railing.
“It’s a very well-built building,” says Mood-Nickerson. “There’s no creaks,” she says, adding contractors determined the walls of the building are three bricks thick.
As for changes to the exterior, the upstairs fire escape was moved back a few feet into what is now the hallway for the inn, and two small ornate rectangular windows that were located on the back of the building now provide light on the side of the building into one of the hotel rooms.
Mood-Nickerson said she always enjoyed going to the Robertson building when it was a library.
“We just don’t have all the history in the area anymore. All the nice old buildings have been renovated into bigger buildings,” she says.