As the historic community centre of commerce and trade, Uptown Saint John is filled with beautiful brick and stone heritage buildings – some dating back past the great fire of 1877. 126 Germain St. is one of these beautiful survivors. Clad in warm brick, the structure rises a full four stories and is graced with high arched windows and pediments that are unique to each floor.

 

The building now houses two locally owned businesses at street level – Trinity Gallery and Backstreet Records – and six loft apartments on the upper floors. All of the apartments were completely overhauled during the renovation of the building and range from studio size to two-storey, two-bedroom set-ups. The clean and simple interior walls are complimented by the beautiful exposed brick exterior walls, high ceilings and huge windows that provide enough sunlight to brighten the entire space.

 

A visit with the tenants of one of the two-bedroom lofts easily tells the story of the Uptown Saint John lifestyle. Rex and Jeannette Baldwin moved to Saint John in early 2008 and chose to rent in the heart of the city as a way to get to know the community before buying their own property. Months later they are so in love with Uptown loft living that they’ve made very little headway in looking for a place of their own.

 

 

Compared to the small apartment they left behind in Vancouver, Rex and Jeannette know they’ve reduced their living costs, even though they are renting storage for their personal items that would fill a large family home. They’ve also gained a lot of extra floor space and the unique warmth that living with brick adds to their place. “We have our own space again.” says Jeannette “In our tiny little one-bedroom it was really hard just to get a break from each other. Here we each have our own place to go when we need some privacy.”

 

With all their daily amenities conveniently located within blocks of their home and all of the entertainment options available in the Uptown core, Rex and Jeannette have everything they need. Jeannette’s yoga studio is right across the street, the City Market where they buy their daily groceries is just a block away, Jeannette can walk to work (“it takes seven minutes door to door”) and come home for lunch, and when they need to shop Brunswick Square Shopping Centre is only blocks away. For the first time in years, the couple has only one car and even that is used infrequently.

 

Even the noise level in the building is low, achieved by the dense materials used in older construction and a well-executed renovation in the last ten years. The only interruption to the quiet of the apartments is the occasional street concert hosted by Backstreet Records downstairs, and the regular chiming of the bells from historic Trinity Anglican Church next door – all of which is drowned out simply by closing the windows.

 

A growing trend in the historic city core, loft living in Saint John is becoming the lifestyle of choice for many young urban people moving into the area. And with the renewed vibrancy of the Uptown and government programs that enable the restoration of the many historic structures still waiting for a little TLC, even more of these inspiring spaces will become available over the next few years.