As construction on Fredericton’s new courthouse on King Street begins, discussions have started about what will happen to the old Justice Building and how to make sure the structure going back to the 1870s survives.

“The big thing for us is to ensure that it does have a future,” Jeremy Mouat, president of the Fredericton Heritage Trust, said in an interview. 

Mouat was part of a panel discussion Wednesday night about the building on Queen Street, next to city hall. 

Fredericton South MLA David Coon hosted the virtual meeting. He called the building, which is still being used as a courthouse, the “structural anchor” to the “heart and soul of downtown Fredericton.”

Mouat was joined on the panel by historical architect John Leroux and Tom Morrison, principal engineer at Heritage Standing, a firm that specializes in historic buildings.  

All three agreed the Justice Building should be preserved and repurposed. 

The original stone and brick building was opened in 1876 as the Normal School, where teachers were trained. In 1929 that building burned down, but the columned front entrance was preserved and the school was rebuilt and opened again in 1931.

Eventually, it became the high school in Fredericton and in the 1970s was turned into a courthouse. 

Mouat noted that Fredericton has a history of repurposing its older infrastructure.

He pointed to the roundhouse on Union Street, which has become a brewpub, the train station on York Street, which is now an NB Liquor store, and even the walking trails, which were transformed when the train tracks were removed. 

“I think letting it stand empty would mean letting it gradually decay, which would mean eventually tearing it down,” Mouat said.  

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