01/30/2026
This was a great week. (Since FB doesn't allow news links, I copied and pasted the article.)
Former Springhill church gets approval to build apartments, commercial development
Up to new 14 units will contribute to bump in housing starts across Cumberland County
Luke Ettinger · CBC News · Posted: Jan 30, 2026 5:00 AM EST | Last Updated: 6 hours ago
Alpaca farmer Arthur Brown purchased the former St. John the Baptist Church in Springhill with plans to turn it into housing. (Luke Ettinger/CBC)
A historic church in Springhill, N.S., is one step closer to a former parishioner's hope of being transformed into affordable housing, as a spike in construction across Cumberland County appears to be sticking.
About two years ago, the St. John the Baptist Church was deregistered as a municipal heritage property to make development easier. Last summer, South Hampton alpaca farmer Arthur Brown purchased the stone structure which opened in 1895.
“From the outside, with its gothic look, it really looks to me like a castle. And I just thought it was magnificent," Brown said in an interview.
“One thing that I felt strongly about was that I didn't want to do anything with the building that's disrespectful to the past use of the building."
This week, the Municipality of Cumberland council voted unanimously to rezone the property to permit residential and commercial uses.
Brown said design work isn't complete, but there's potential for between four and 14 housing units. He is also considering space for one or two businesses.
“Depending on what funding sources are available, I would ideally like to have half the units as affordable units and half at full market rates,” he said.
The church's roof, which previously leaked, has been replaced. While the church organ will be removed, Brown plans to preserve as much of the building's stained glass and wood features as possible. (Luke Ettinger/CBC)
The roof, which previously leaked, has been replaced. While the church organ will be removed, Brown said he plans to preserve as much of the building's stained glass and wood features as possible.
“Any windows that would come out, it's only going to be to provide egress," he said.
“I want to preserve this magnificent ceiling and as much of the woodwork that's down here as I can."
Brown said the approximately six-month renovation will likely start in the summer.
Development increasing
Development in Cumberland has been on the rise, with construction starting on 215 dwellings in 2025, according to Glen Boone, the municipality's director of development and planning.
“Those numbers compared back to, if you look at 2020, would’ve changed significantly," Boone said.
Boone said there's been further growth, highlighting staff homes to support operations at Fox Harb'r Resort as an example.
He said the work continues to attract the development of missing middle housing such as townhomes and two- to three-storey apartment buildings.
“So what we're looking at doing is trying to make sure we can get a wide variety of housing, with a little bit more focus on our urban centres like Springhill, Pugwash, Parrsboro.”
In Amherst, construction started on 148 units in 2025, compared to 90 the year prior.
Mayor Rob Small said the period of growth follows a time where there was little residential construction in the border town.
"We've gone from 20 to 25, maybe 30 units a year now, to over 100 a year. That's continuing this year," said Small.
"That's a big change for us."
