Abandoned building in West End to get second life as café

A vacant, graffiti-strewn building in Halifax’s West End will be seeing a second life as a café and gift shop.

The owner of Selby’s Bunker Coffee and Gifts in Cole Harbour says he plans to pay homage to the Gibson’s Appraisals building on Chebucto Road after the municipality approved his proposal to demolish the area’s cherished historical building.

The building, which has sat vacant for several years, is boarded up and littered with graffiti but Selby says he loved the location and its connection to the community.

Jason Selby tells CityNews Halifax he knew the building would have to be demolished but he felt it would make a great spot to expand his business on the peninsula.

“The location is great, it’s kind of tucked into a neighbourhood (and) it’s a residential community so it’s perfect in that respect,” says Selby. “I think it would be nice to see the community enjoy that space once again.”

Selby says his plan includes design elements to capture the building’s history in the community.

“We are hoping that we can pay homage to the building’s former life in some of the design features so perhaps that’s featuring the sign in the new building in some area or maybe doing an art mural,” says Selby, adding the local community has been supportive of his plans.

“It is a shame that the building can’t be completely saved but with modern, commercial codes and floor loads (and) the building sat vacant for so long with water pouring into it and there’s rot and all kinds of structural issues there so we’ll do what we can to make its mark in the new space.”