Canada has announced it will kick in the last $700,000 needed to complete renovations at Kinney Place — a former orphanage converted as a Black entrepreneurship and community hub in Dartmouth, N.S.

More than $1.5 million was spent to complete the first few phases of the $2.2 million project, according to a statement. Akoma Holdings Inc., a Black-led charity organizing the work, and Darrell Samson, parliamentary secretary to the minister of veterans affairs and associate minister of national defence, were among the delegates and dignitaries on-site for the announcement Wednesday, Feb. 22.

“This is another great day for our community. The opening of Kinney Place recognizes the historical contribution this building has to this province and country. At Akoma, we are happy that Kinney Place will be an incubator for Black businesses and an intergenerational hub for the community,” Kathleen Mitchell, president of the board of directors at Akoma, said in a statement.

“We value the part that we are able to play to enhance services to the African Nova Scotian community and general society. I want to thank the board and staff who have worked hard to make the refurbishment happen, and our funders, especially the Government of Canada, for believing in the vision.”

Supply chain issues, the cost of materials, and the impact of COVID-19 delayed the completion of the project, which has been in the works since 2016. But now, the last phase will commence soon and focus on refurbishing additional space for businesses to lease, according to a statement.

The centre already has offices, a café and catering business, a hair salon, and a spa. It also offers a gathering space for seniors and a studio for rent for community members to use for art classes, workshops, or meetings.

Last October, Kinney Place celebrated its relaunch, marking 101 years since its opening in 1921. Prior to the upgrade, the former Nova Scotia Home for Coloured Children (or the Old Home) had a sordid past.

The Old Home turns anew in Nova Scotia

The new Kinney Place is named after James Alexander Ross Kinney (1879-1931), a founder of the Nova Scotia Home for Coloured Children and its first superintendent, according to Halifax.ca.

Kinney was a community leader born in Yarmouth, N.S., who dedicated his later life to educating Black children in the Atlantic region. He insisted that all Black children, regardless of their background, be accepted.

Home to more than 100 children at one point, Black Nova Scotians benefitted from the residence's healthy rural setting, on-site school, committed staff, as well as volunteers from the neighbourhood's Black communities. Henry Gibson Bauld, a white businessman from Halifax who served as president of the board for a number of years, also helped manage the facility.

But following Kinney's death in 1931, the orphanage became a place where African Nova Scotian children faced abhorrent abuse from management.

“Forms of discipline included being sent to bed hungry and being locked outside with inadequate clothing,” a 2019 inquiry report reads, according to CTV. “Moreover, it was reported to us that food was withheld by some staff unless the resident would comply with sexual acts.”

The abuse of children continued over the next several decades as the facility prioritized discipline over devotion. After more than 50 years, the Nova Scotia Home for Coloured Children closed its doors in 1979.

Now, officials are looking to turn the page with the new centre. Samson said that by acknowledging the tragic history and investing in Black community resources, the provincial and federal governments and the community are turning the page on a dark chapter in history.

“Projects like Kinney Place show us the direct impact that capital funding has in building an organization's capacity and improving the long-term social and economic well-being of the Black communities they serve,” Samson said in a statement. “The refurbishments completed on Kinney Place will not only preserve an important part of Nova Scotian history, but they will also contribute to a better future by building a space for Black businesses and other Black-led initiatives to grow.”