A Municipal Heritage Property, the bank building bears a plaque which would lead one to believe that it was built in 1887. That plaque, however, seems to refer to the previous building, which
was built in 1887.
Built one year after its competition, the Bank of Montreal which stands across the street, we hope that this building faces a more secure future than does the B of M building, which has been given up on by the town and is soon to be scheduled for demolition.
We say this because the Bank of Nova Scotia will be
vacating the building in October of 2015 and, at present, has no firm plans for the building's disposition.
The Amherst News, ever on the prowl for local news stories, ran an article on the amalgamation of the two Amherst Scotiabanks in its March 02, 2015 issue, which is reproduced in part below.
Scotiabank consolidating
banking operations in Amherst
Darrell Cole - Published on March 02, 2015
To close downtown branch in October
AMHERST – An iconic piece of downtown Amherst’s architectural history will close its doors this fall.
Scotiabank is closing its Victoria Street branch in October when it consolidates its Amherst operations with the Amherst Centre branch.
Darrell Cole – Citizen-Record
Scotiabank confirmed Monday that its downtown branch will close in October and be consolidated with its branch at the Amherst Centre Mall...
The downtown branch employs 11 and no employees will be losing their jobs as a result of the consolidation...
There are no plans for the bank’s Victoria Street property. Armstrong said as the consolidation nears, the bank will be open to considering a variety of options for the property.
Amherst Mayor Robert Small admitted to being disappointed with the bank’s decision, adding the building is one of the crown jewels of the Victorian architecture in the downtown core...
The mayor said he spoke to the branch manager about the decision and understands why the decision was made. One of the issues, he said, is the downtown branch is not wheelchair accessible and it would cost a lot of money to renovate the building’s entrance to change that.
Mark Casey of the Downtown Amherst Business Advisory Committee said he’s not surprised with the bank’s decision, but added he’s disappointed with the decision because it will leave a pretty significant hole in the downtown...
From the Amherst News