Two sides at odds over future development of old Moncton High School

MH Renaissance Inc., the group hoping to turn the old Moncton High School into an arts and cultural centre says working with U-Haul is not part of their long-term plan.

“In order to make the auditorium and gymnasium work we need to have a ‘for rental’ side on the high school side, and the funds that that produces subsidizes the use of the auditorium,” said Jim Lockyer from MH Renaissance.

U-Haul, a moving and self-storage company, has placed a bid with the province to buy the building. Their intention is to preserve the character and facade of the historic building, while making both the auditorium and the gym available for community use.

“From the beginning of this process, we’ve had no intention of disturbing the auditorium or gymnasium,” said Area District Vice President, Jake Spelic.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "From the beginning of this process, we've had no intention of disturbing the auditorium or gymnasium," said Area District Vice President, Jake Spelic.

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“These are beautiful, celebrated features of this building that we want to see maintained. It has always been our intention that they would be left intact for community purposes.”

Spelic says he is open to working with MH Renaissance to develop a plan that accommodates both proposals. He says the company has worked with several community groups to support the arts in its other locations.

“Our Cite 2000 location in downtown Montreal, where we have 2 floors of rehearsal space for local musicians and bands,” Spelic said.

“We have Ballet classes held in our Pittsburgh store, dance studios operating in our Oakland location. Working closely with the arts is not new to us and we are very open to working with the city or local arts communities or groups to find an acceptable fit for that wonderful auditorium and gymnasium.”

But Lockyer says that is not a viable option.

“The problem is who is going to carry the cost of that side of the building? The centre, the auditorium the change rooms, the orchestra pit, the stage, the gymnasium if in fact it’s halved off from the other side of the building,” he said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "The problem is who is going to carry the cost of that side of the building? The centre, the auditorium the change rooms, the orchestra pit, the stage, the gymnasium if in fact it's halved off from the other side of the building," he said.

He says MH Renaissance has a self-sufficient plan to take over the entire property, create rental space in the former school so they could offset costs and therefore offer community groups use of the auditorium and gym at cost.