Achi news desk-
AMHERST, NS –
The federal government has announced plans to sell the historic, century-old armory in Amherst, NS, to make way for new housing.
In the federal budget released Tuesday, the Liberal government said it will free up lands held by the Department of Defense and Canada Post to make way for housing construction across the country.
The aim is to build 3.87 million new homes by 2031, adding two million homes to the 1.87 million the country was already on track to build.
To help achieve that goal, the Department of Defense will work with the Canada Lands Company to dispose of 14 surplus properties.
Among those properties is the Amherst Armory in northern Nova Scotia, built in 1915.
The massive sandstone building was declared defunct in 2016 after the local reserve unit moved out, but is still used for community functions, military cadet training and to house the North Nova Scotia Highlanders Regimental Museum.
The building was temporarily closed in 2020 for an engineering review, which found that its two massive towers were in poor condition and required various repairs within 10 years.
The closure angered local residents.
“The temporary closure was a surprise to the community; this was our mistake,” the Department of Defense said at the time. “Information about the closure was not sent to everyone who uses the armory at the same time.”
This report was first published by The Canadian Press on April 17, 2024.
