A once thriving school and community centre that served the residents of Lake Loon and Cherry Brook is back in the hands of the people who’ve been fighting to preserve it.
“We’re glad to have it back and anxious to get in and start restoring it to its original state,” said Brenton Sparks, a member of the Lake Loon-Cherry Brook Development Association (LLCBD).
The building was a segregated school until 1964 then turned into a community centre until its closure in 1990.
READ MORE: Protest to save Lake Loon Cherry Brook Community Centre
Ever since then it’s sat rotting away under the ownership of the municipality, who deemed it surplus property.
The community fought for over 20 years to have the rights to the building returned to the residents of Lake Loon and Cherry Brook.
“We have always stated that if HRM say they owned it, then did they let it get to the state it’s in right now?” Sparks said.
LLCBD won an initial battle last May when regional council agreed to sell the building back to the community for $1.
“They (municipality) know that it was ours and it just had to go through a legal formality to get it back,” Sparks said.
The deal was finalized this week and Sparks says he’s eager to “get inside and restore it,” with the help of many in the community.
District councillor Lorelei Nicoll has been working with the LLCBD since she was elected in 2008.
She says now is the time to move forward and celebrate the community’s desire to revitalize the historical property.
“It’s about looking at present day and what needs to happen now. Everyone is celebrating who they are and their sense of community and that’s what we need to encourage more and more,” Nicoll said.
The municipality is giving LLCBD a grant worth $170,000 for the renovation project.
Funds had been allocated in the budget for demolition of the building.
Sparks says there’s interest from a community doctor to set up his practice in the building once it’s renovated.
The community also wants to add a daycare and a resource centre for seniors.