It weathered the Halifax Explosion just fine, but a series of botched renovations has Halifax City Hall needing $1 million in repairs.
A tender offer of $1,031,991 will be presented to council tomorrow for a stone masonry facelift of the national historic site.
The downtown building was completed in 1889 and survived the 1917 explosion that rocked the city with only minimal damage. But things went downhill from there.
The building received an acid/steam cleaning in 1948, according to HRM staff. The original slate roof was removed in 1950 and another major restoration project to the exterior was carried out in 1982-1983.
“Despite the best of intentions, the parging, re-pointing and coating of the sandstone and decorative elements did more harm than good,” reads a staff report.
The report says the condition of the masonry is now very poor with extensive deterioration and it’s rapidly getting worse.
The approximately $1-million bid from Coastal Restoration & Masonry Ltd. was the cheapest of four offers. It covers phase one of what is expected to be a three- or four-year restoration project. HRM received $1.3 million in stimulus money for the program.
