The 'gap-toothed' streets of Saint John's Old North End

The City of Saint John's focus on the Old North End has produced what Morgan Lanigan calls a "gap toothed street face."

There are lots of open spaces now within a few square blocks in the Main and Albert streets area.

It follows a 10-month demolition spree under the municipality's dangerous and dilapidated buildings bylaw.

To Lanigan, the president of the local community group ONE Change, this is progress.

"This is one of the steps forward to bringing the Old North End back," Lanigan said. "As far as I'm concerned, taking those buildings down, [those] that need to come down, is actually a victory for us."

Over the course of this year a dozen area buildings have been removed, with another — at 21-25 Main St. — due to be demolished Monday.

Three others, at 120 Main, 13 Albert, and 131 Victoria will be taken down in coming weeks after city tenders closed Friday.

"It's much better than having a boarded up fire trap on the street," Lanigan said. "So that brings a lot more confidence to the viable buildings that are next door to it and to the people who live in those neighbourhoods."

Lanigan said the Old North End now has the lowest levels of crime, poverty, and poor health of the city's five so-called priority neighbourhoods.

A few years ago it had the highest.

The goal, he said, is not to see the neighbourhood gentrify, something that could drive out lower-income people, but to encourage construction of mixed-income buildings.

Bravo, said neighbour Crystal Cobham.

Cobham has lived in her Main Street home for just a year but has already dealt with terrifying overnight fires in buildings just a few doors away.

She'd love to see new townhouses or apartment buildings on the now-vacant properties. The neighbourhood, she said, has a lot of potential.

"It's local, there's a great playground up the street, there's a great playground down the street by the water. ... There's a lot of things, it's a very kid orientated neighbourhood."

So far, there is no sign of new residential construction in the neighbourhood.

Still Alan Merritt was quite pleased as he surveyed the large and newly levelled lot at the intersection of Albert and Metcalf streets.

Seven buildings, in two groupings were demolished there by a city-hired contractor earlier this month.

"I think it's beautiful," Merritt said. "You don't have to look at crap anymore, run-down dilapidated old buildings that have just been an eyesore since I moved here in 2014.

"It would be nice to have some more affordable housing, but green space would be nice too."