Rustico's Belcourt Centre makes top 10 endangered list

The Belcourt Centre in Rustico on P.E.I.'s North Shore has been listed by the National Trust as one of the top 10 endangered heritage buildings in Canada.

Each year the National Trust releases a list of buildings it considers most at risk across the country with the hopes of saving them.

The Catholic Diocese of Charlottetown, which owns the Belcourt Centre, plans to tear it down to build a new, larger spiritual retreat.

National Trust executive director Natalie Bull told CBC News the centre received many nominations from the community.

"It's really part of an important cultural landscape," said Bull.

"It's a symbol of the efforts to help preserve the Acadian culture and language in this part of the Island. It seems to be a great, solid building and we agree with the local community that it doesn't seem to be the right thing to do to send this structure to the landfill."

Part of a historic area

The National Trust would like the diocese integrate at least some of the original structure in its new centre.

In many ways, they do belong to the community.- Natalie Bull, National Trust

The Belcourt Centre was built in 1932, replacing a convent on the same site following a fire. The diocese says it has continued to operate and maintain the centre to the best of its financial abilities since it purchased it from private owners in the 1970s, but it has been expensive and the centre operates at a loss.

Bull said the Belcourt Centre is an important component in the collection of historic buildings in the community, which date back as far as the 18th century.

"There are many values at play here: the tourism draw that this collection of historic buildings collectively creates, the economics of a community having really built these buildings," she said.

"They were built using volunteer labour from the parishioners. These properties exist tax-free because of the status of the church groups that own them and so, in many ways, they do belong to the community."

The bishop of Charlottetown met with a group from the community in early February to try to work out a plan to save the building, but could not reach an agreement.

The diocese says an engineering assessment of the build recommended a brand new building. The diocese has not released this report to the public.