Saint John non-profits and developers are trying to breathe new life into the city’s many old, empty buildings. But reviving buildings that can often be more than a century old comes with financial and logistical hurdles.
A new project aims to convert vacant building into affordable housing for clients of Elizabeth Fry Society
Nipun Tiwari · CBC News
· Posted: Aug 03, 2026 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hour ago
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The Vacant 2 Vibrant organization’s first project is a building on Duke Street, where the group is working to create four housing units for women served by the Elizabeth Fry Society. (Nipun Tiwari/CBC)
Some Saint John community groups and developers are trying to breathe new life into the city’s many old, empty buildings.
According to city staff, there are roughly 175 vacant buildings throughout Saint John and that number can fluctuate over time.
That’s something the non-profit Vacant 2 Vibrant hopes to change.
Co-founded by former city councillor Brent Harris and Justin Sweeney, who works in finance, the organization plans to transform some of these empty — and sometimes dilapidated — buildings into affordable housing.
This story was brought to Nouzie by RSS. The original post can be found on https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/saint-john-old-buildings-brent-harris-vacant-2-vibrant-justin-sweeney-heritage-9.7289264?cmp=rss
