Fredericton council defers decision to give Risteen building a heritage designation

Fredericton city council has, for the third time,deferred a decision on whether the Risteen building should be brought under the heritage preservation bylaw.

At Monday night's meeting,councillors gave developer Gabriel Elzayat two more weeks to "examine all of his options" before making theirfinal decision.

But Coun.Kate Rogers said she's getting frustrated by the delays.

"To give it status, to make it a heritage building, we actually don't need to see the development plans," she said.

Assessing building's heritage value

Elzayat planned to build an apartment complex on the site. The adjacent buildings have already been demolished but a stop work order was issued on the Risteen building in April until its heritage value could be assessed.

Rogers said it's a unique situation for the city to assess a property after it's been purchased and about to be developed.

"I was supportive of being sensitive and giving the developer time to put forward a development plan, but it's been weeks," she said.

"I'm starting to get frustrated we don't even need to see those development plans to determine whether or not this building has heritage significance."

The Risteen building, atthe corner of Queen and Smythe streets, was built in the 1820s and was the first stone-cut building in New Brunswick. In the 1870s it became the Risteen Sash and Door Factory.

Despite its long history, the building has never come under any heritage designation.

As a result, Rogers said, the process for identifying heritage buildings in the capital city may need to change.

"Looking at the pressures that are going to be on our downtown in the coming years because of the increase in population, that's precisely what we need to do," she said.

"We need to be more proactive in our designation."