C $599,000; US +/-$415,900; € +/-400,000
Calling all entrepreneurs, renaissance thinkers, and investors. Centrally positioned in the town of Liverpool on a 1.7-acre lot is this commercial building, oozing with potential. Carry forward the existing setup, or convert into alternate businesses, residential units, or a mix of both. Over 22,500 square feet of interior space and a vast amount of parking, so the sky’s the limit. Stately and historically significant, the location is conveniently located near all of Liverpool’s amenities.
The Rossignol Cultural Centre is an eclectic archive of a life spent looking for the beauty in unusual things. The space has been transformed from the South Queens Senior Elementary School, which also housed the Liverpool Municipal Library. Integrated into the museum is a veritable cornucopia of exhibits which could theoretically be carried forward by the new owner.
The season runs from the spring through September with close to 4000 attendees annually. There is an entrance fee, and it has created an economic tourism driver for the community of Liverpool.
The Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency invested about $630,000 in the Rossignol Cultural Centre between 2001 and 2006, and the Hines family contributed an equivalent amount to complete the restoration. There was also local funding by a group of donors.
The “carry forward” option to purchase the Rossignol Cultural Centre including contents and display would be a consideration for the seller. Additional negotiated compensation would have to be part of the sale agreement (the contents are not included in the sale).
Details of the Rossignol Cultural Centre
1. At the forefront is the museum of Natural History which features a sensational menagerie of taxidermied animals from around the world.
2. The Sherman Hines photographic portrait exhibition, showcasing the famous, the wealthy and the indigenous. On display is the Canadian master’s holy trinity (Edward Curtis, Yousuf Karsh and Sherman Hines) with subjects including Chief Joseph, Winston Churchill, Mick Jagger, Prince Philip, Pope John XXIII, Margaret Trudeau and Justin Trudeau, Gerald Regan, and Muriel Duckworth. Additional works by Gary P. Hayes, Wallace MacAskill, and William Notman are hung.
3. A perfect reconstruction of a pre–Halifax Explosion apothecary (pharmacy). It is the one of the only surviving artifacts of its kind, due to the exterior angle and composition of the building, deflecting the blast.
4. A John Nash paneled dining room, deconstructed, shipped from England and rebuilt to exact duplicate specifications.
5. “Outhouses, like poor puns, fell out of odour,” writes Ray Guy. The only one of its kind; the unbelievably popular Outhouse Museum, a celebration of a vanishing world. Sherman Hines photography collection of twenty volumes, Connie Denailt collection of outhouse paraphernalia, some original outhouses (bow of a fishing boat, Newfoundland license plate) and floor to ceiling shelves of Thunder pots.
6. Life of a scout in the 1960’s. A personal collection showing what life was like before our digital era.
7. A Mi’kmaq museum of artifacts and historical detail.
8. A complete reconstruction of a trapper’s cabin.
Address: 137 Old Bridge Road, Liverpool, Nova Scotia
MLS: 202428534
PID: 70216700
Zoning: Commercial
Directions: From Halifax, take Highway 103 to Exit 19 Liverpool. Take Milton Road to Bristol Avenue. Cross the bridge and make a right on Main Street. Make a left on Gotham Street to Church. Property is at the "T" in the intersection.
Building Age: 88 years
Number of Floors: 2
Building Dimensions: 178 x 40 + 45 x 40 + 77 x 26
Building Square Footage: 22,618 sq ft
Building Features: Public washrooms, recreational area, security system, partially fenced, storage building
Site Influences: High traffic location, corner site, shopping nearby, visual exposure, fenced
Lot size: 73,442 sq ft/1.7 acres
Construction: Brick
Roofing: Asphalt shingles
Flooring: Concrete and other
Water Source: Community
Utilities: Cable, electrical, municipal water, sewer, telephone
Heating: Furnace, radiant
Driveway/Parking: Multiple driveways, concrete, paved, parking spaces and visitor parking
Rental Equipment: None
Inclusions: Contents negotiable
Exclusions: Contents
Operating Costs: Owner pays: heating, property taxes, business taxes, electricity, water, insurance, interior maintenance, exterior maintenance, structural maintenance
HST: Subject to HST over and above the purchase price
Please Contact Listing Broker: Piers Baker – Cellphone Number: 902-980-0522 or Email: piers@tfts.ca