Sussex Group Makes Renewed Push to Find Developer for Former Broadway Café Site
SUSSEX – A group of Sussex investors is making a renewed push to find a developer for the vacant property that was once home to the popular Broadway Café before the building and the one beside it were destroyed by fire in 2012.
More than five years later, Joe Waugh says the right development could make the area a community hub once again.
“The properties that burned, especially the one that housed the Broadway Café, were really seen by a lot of people as a focal point, a gathering place for the community,” said Waugh in a recent interview with Huddle. “It was quite a shock. It created a sense of there being a hole or a missing element in the community.”
The café itself was popular beyond the borders of Sussex, with many travelling from as far away as Saint John for a meal or live music show.
In the year after the fire, Waugh says Peter and Beth Powning “took the initiative” and got a group of concerned citizens together to buy the property. The called themselves The Friends of Broad Street.
“[We wanted to] shape what happened there in the future,” said Waugh, who along with his wife became one of the investors. “We wanted to find someone who can recreate some elements of what was lost, both architecturally and the use of the buildings.”
After nearly five years, they’re still searching for the right investor.
“We’ve have had different levels of interest,” said Waugh. “We’ve had people come into Sussex and toured them around town and talked with them a number of times. There’s definitely been general interest, but the big step of actually making the investment [has not happened].”
Waugh says the group has engaged Stephanie Turner of Partners Global to further efforts to find the right developer. They’ve put out a request for proposals on the property that will close in mid-April.
Turner says there’s great potential for development on this site. On a personal level, she knows what it means to the community.
“I lived in Sussex for nine years and still have many friends there,” said Turner. “When the ‘Friends of Broad Street’ contacted me for help in selling the land I did not hesitate for a moment.
“When the fire took place in 2012, it was a hard blow to the community. I’m thrilled at the prospect of helping turn this vacant lot into something valuable for downtown Sussex. The group of owners have put a lot of hard work into a plan for what the property could be and I’m looking forward to building on that effort.”
The group envisions a development much like the one that was there before the fire and will select a proposal that will help restore vibrancy in the community’s commercial centre and respect the historic character of the street.
Waugh says the site that is too important to the community to sit vacant for years on end.
“This is a challenge for small towns around the province,” said Waugh. “Every time you hear about a fire, the same issue comes up. Do we end up with another parking lot or vacant space for years? What are the possibilities [for a new development]?”
Waugh envisions many possibilities for this site. He says there could be a restaurant or a microbrewery as an anchor for other commercial tenants or possibly apartments on an upper floor.
The essential character of the street is still the same, he says. It has commercial businesses like Winterwood Natural Food Store and the historic train station across the street. The group of investors are all committed to seeing that vision preserved and enhanced with a new development.
“There are quite a few buildings on there that had been upgraded and restored, including the train station across the street,” said Waugh. “So to keep that character was a common goal of everyone that bought in.”