Restore the Heart of Beechville

To restore and redesign the Beechville Centre as a welcoming, accessible, and future-ready community space that honors Beechville’ s history, responds to today’s needs, and creates opportunities for generations to come.

The restored Beechville Centre will be more than a building. It will be a place of belonging, celebration, learning, wellness, and connection—rooted in the community’s past and built for its future.

The restored Beechville Centre will be more than a building. It will be a place of belonging, celebration, learning, wellness, and connection—rooted in the community’s past and built for its future.

• When you imagine a revitalized Beechville Centre, what do you hope it looks and feels like?
• What role should the new centre play in the life of the community over the next 20 years?
• What would make you feel proud to bring family, friends, or visitors to this space?

Beechville is a historic African Nova Scotian community with a legacy of resilience, advocacy, and self-determination. Restoring the community centre is an opportunity to protect that legacy while investing in a shared space where residents can gather, access programs, support one another, and shape the next chapter of community life.

• What community needs are currently unmet that this redesigned centre could help address?
• Who should benefit most from the redesigned facility, and how can we ensure their needs are included?
• What activities, programs, or services would you like to see offered here?

The campaign will invite residents to identify the stories, traditions, symbols, and design elements that should be reflected in the restored centre so the space feels unmistakably connected to Beechville’ s culture, heritage, and community identity.

• What aspects of the old Beechville Centre's history, character, or legacy should be preserved in the redesign?
• How can the new design reflect Beechville’ s unique culture, heritage, and community identity?
• What stories or traditions should be represented in the space?

A successful restoration must work for youth, seniors, families, people with disabilities, community organizations, and visitors. The campaign will focus on features that make the centre safe, inclusive, flexible, and easy to use for everyday gatherings, programs, events, and services.

• What features would make the centre welcoming and accessible to everyone?
• How can the space better serve youth, seniors, families, and people with disabilities?
• What indoor and outdoor spaces would add the most value to the community?

Community input will help define what is essential, what can be phased in over time, and what improvements will create the greatest long-term value. The campaign will use resident feedback to identify must-have features, address concerns early, and guide investment decisions.

• If we could only invest in three major improvements, what should they be and why?
• What should be considered a "must-have" versus a "nice-to-have" in the redesign?
• What concerns or challenges should we address before moving forward?

Five years from now, success should be visible in the life of the centre: full rooms, active programs, youth leadership, elders sharing knowledge, families gathering, community organizations collaborating, and residents feeling proud to welcome others into a restored Beechville landmark.

• If the redesigned Beechville Centre is considered a great success five years from now, what would be happening there that tells us we got it right?

"How can we redesign the Beechville Centre in a way that honors its history, meets today's needs, and creates opportunities for future generations?"

We invite residents, partners, funders, and community champions to help shape the future of the Beechville Centre. Your voice will help determine what the restored centre becomes, what it protects, and how it serves the community for the next generation.

To join the Working Group on Restoration or have some one meet with you to discuss the project email:

Carolann Wright at  beechvillecda@gmail.com 

Deacon Patsy Crawford at bbchurchclerk@gmail.com

Online Community Survey Beechville Centre Restoration 

Fillable .pdf  - Download/Save/Print Community Survey Beechville Centre Restoration and mail or email back to the following: 

Beechville Baptist Church

1135 St. Margaret's Bay Road

Beechville, NS B3T 1A8

bbchurchclerk@gmail.com