New home of New Brunswick Museum to open in 2026, says board chair
Kathryn Hamer says construction should begin next year on addition to existing building in Saint John
The New Brunswick Museum hopes to break ground next year for the museum's new home in Saint John, according to the outgoing chair.
Kathryn Hamer said the plan is to start digging in mid-to-late 2024 at the site, which is actually the site of the former home of the museum, on Douglas Avenue.
"And from there, we move into the construction phase ... and the fundraising phase will be especially concentrated in 2025," Hamer told the public accounts committee at the provincial legislature during a presentation on Thursday afternoon.
The hope is that by the "second or third quarter of '26 — if not the first — we will be able to move in," she said.
Hamer, who will soon be replaced by vice-chair William Forrestall of Fredericton, told the committee the 160,000-square-foot addition and the renovation of the old building will cost about $150 million — one-third will come from the province, one-third from the federal government and one-third from fundraising.
She said the province has already paid another $8 million for preliminary work, including for planning and to hire the architects.
"New Brunswick will finally have a museum of which it can be justly proud for the 21st century and forward."
Hamer also explained how the board picked the site of the new building.
She said its historic ties to First Nations was part of what was considered during site selection. She called it probably one of the most historic sites in the province "because of the First Nations' use of that land long before any of the rest of us were there."
"This is a site that goes back well before any European settlement. For thousands of years, it was used as a portage route by First Nations. … we know that there are some Indigenous sites — not underneath the building but on that site — so the design will be shaped in such a way as to respect all of the Indigenous sites, all of the First Nation sites that we're aware of."
Hamer said the design is still being worked on by Toronto-based architects Diamond Schmitt, although it has been decided to keep the original red sandstone building on Douglas Avenue.
New construction, along with a new parking lot, will be built "to the right" of the existing building as one stands facing the Douglas Avenue entrance of the building.
Hamer was asked by MLAs about the expropriation of houses adjacent to the museum.
She said the board was not involved in discussions or negotiations with neighbours. She said the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure looked after that.
The province is trying to obtain six properties to the right of the museum property — four with houses on them, one vacant but privately owned lot, and one thin sliver of land owned by the city.
Hamer said some landowners accepted the offer, and others are still in negotiations.
She said the project won't start with an immediate demolition of the buildings. That would only be done if the land is needed. Any properties that aren't needed will go back on the market, she said.
The New Brunswick Museum had been spread over two buildings — the old Douglas Avenue building, used for collections and research, and part of Market Square, used for exhibit space and a shop. The exhibit space is now closed, and artifacts from Douglas Avenue are in storage.
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