Despite the cold on Friday, Bridge and Main in downtown Sackville were crawling with people for the final night of Moonlight Madness. But the intersection will quiet down considerably early this week, at least in terms of traffic.
The Henderson Building at 3-5 Bridge Street will be demolished, and to make that operation safe, the town has agreed to close down Bridge Street near the intersection with Main.
Today, Bridge will be closed around noon, as workers setup for the demolition to start in earnest on Tuesday. “Day two is when the bulk of the demolition and construction work should take place,” says Town of Sackville senior manager Kieran Miller. “And then day three is hopefully just finishing anything that needs to be done, tying up any loose ends, getting the construction fencing out of there, and the street opened again.”
Vehicle traffic will be detoured to Allison Avenue starting today, and pedestrian traffic will be diverted starting Tuesday. Because Willow Lane will also be used for heavy trucks transporting debris, pedestrians will be detoured through the Independent parking lot.
Miller says both sidewalks are being closed on Bridge Street due to safety concerns. “It’s a very complicated tear down,” says Miller, citing the position and height of the 120 year old building. “And the age of the materials mean that the bricks are very prone to shattering when they fall. So in order to protect any pedestrians, any nearby buildings and businesses, they have quite a large demo area.”
“It was determined it was best to close it down, keep people safe. We don’t want a big group of spectators watching, just because of the potential for any debris to hit anyone. So it’s really a safety issue in this case.”
Miller says the demolition operation by contractors Beale and Inch may be completed on Tuesday, meaning the Wednesday will not be a full day. “Ideally, they can get it all done on the seventh. It’s a conservative estimate. We don’t want to tell people the street is going to be open before it might be. Hopefully, we can get it open earlier.”
The closed area begins just past Song’s Chopsticks on Bridge Street. Businesses blocked off will be Fener’s Place and Ducky’s, as well as Meraki Body Lounge across the street.
Fener’s Place plans to remain open during the street closure. On Tuesday, when access to their shop is completely cut off, they are offering take-out only, and asking customers to pick up their orders at the shop’s back door, in the alley between the Wood Block and Cranewood. CHMA has reached out to Ducky’s and Meraki Body Lounge to learn their plans.
Henderson Building history
The building that will be demolished was damaged in a fire in September of 2020, displacing people in three upstairs apartments, and shutting down Nabi Sushi on the ground floor. The building is owned by Duane, Sue and Justin Pauley, and for years, Duane Pauley operated a salon on the ground floor called A Touch of Class.
According to records supplied by the Tantramar Heritage Trust, the Henderson building was constructed in 1900 by A.B. Cobb and Henry Fawcett. The building survived a previous Bridge Street fire in 1912, with just some water damage. It’s known as the Henderson Building, after the Henderson family who bought it in 1913 and operated a drug store there until 1992.
The building was also home to the Sackville Book Store, operated by W.R. Goodwin until 1906, and then later by Mary Jane Henderson.
It’s not clear yet what the plans are for the site of the building once demolished. Southeast Regional Service Commission planner Lori Bickford says no plans for future development are in the works.
