Gov't to put out proposals for repairs to crumbling limestone on Main Street federal building

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The federal government will soon be putting out a call for proposals to repair damage and protect the stately federal building on Main Street in Moncton.

Rory Matchett, a spokesman for Public Works and Government Services, said yesterday a request for proposals will go out at the end of this month for a consultant to study the building and suggest a course of action to repair and restore the decaying limestone exterior of the building.

The building has been a fixture at the corner of Main and Highfield streets for decades, serving as a post office and now as home to several federal government agencies.

But it has been surrounded by scaffolding and construction fencing for several years. Matchett said the scaffolding is mainly there to protect pedestrians from falling chunks of limestone. He said the building was recently inspected and any loose chunks removed. The danger of falling stone is now minimal and the scaffolding remains mainly as a safety precaution. He said repair work could begin this fall.

But Daniel Allain, executive-director of Downtown Moncton Centre Ville Inc., says the scaffolding has become an eyesore and an impediment to development.

The Crowne Plaza Hotel on the other corner of Main and Highfield recently underwent a major renovation and more projects are planned. Other development in the area has moved ahead, mainly in the form of a new Sobeys store and N.B. Liquor outlet. The Tim Hortons outlet up the street is scheduled to be closed at the end of this month, which will leave the space at Main and Weldon open for development. Ashford Developments has a new office building planned at the corner of Main and Vaughan Harvey Boulevard.

Allain said there are still some key elements missing and only time will tell what will happen.