By KELLY SHIERS Staff Reporter

Who wants to live on a barren island at the mouth of Halifax Harbour?

Apparently, a lot of people are at least thinking about it.

At least six years after the last inhabitant left Devils Island, owner Bill Mont says he hopes someone will call it home by fall.

"I think that’s the way it’s going to be," he said.

The Halifax entrepreneur told The Chronicle Herald last month that despite his offer of free rent, he hasn’t been able to entice anyone to the 12-hectare island and the lone run-down, four-bedroom house that has been vacant since a Norwegian artist moved off. Since the story appeared, interest has "absolutely" picked up, he said.

"We got a lot of people calling, a lot of people chasing me down," he said. "It’s slowed down a little bit now but they’re out there and it’s a matter of just finding the right person; it’s the right mix."

Although the island lacks amenities such as electricity and running water, Mr. Mont says he plans to start repairs to the former lighthouse keeper’s house, such as fixing the roof, and says he may even throw a free boat into the deal, for the right person.

He says he’s been hearing all sorts of proposals from all kinds of people, from a man who wants to use the island for a program for wayward kids, to a film company interested in using it as a spot for a series, to a retired Florida man who claims his Special Forces training would help him whip the property into shape.

"I’ve got to call back and talk to him a bit more," he said.

Among those intrigued by the notion of island living is Andrea Cogan, a self-described "traveller-adventurer" who recently drove cross-country with a dozen people in a school bus that could run on vegetable oil.

Since returning home to the Halifax area, she has given birth to a baby boy and says it would be "a dream come true" to raise her son on the island.

After speaking with Mr. Mont, she said she likes the idea of the island becoming a welcoming place for others, instead of a private residence, and wondered whether a community garden might work there. Or perhaps it could be used as a meeting place for like-minded people who would come to talk and learn about issues that concerned them, like the environment. Some of the people she met on her earlier travels — who have endless ideas — probably would be interested in also taking up residence there, she said.

Then there’s the Ontario couple who toyed with the idea of a bed and breakfast on the island.

"It was a fleeting fantasy," said the man from Port Stanley, who asked not to be named.

He said he and his wife envisioned fixing up the lighthouse keeper’s house, perhaps building a separate guest house and flying visitors to the island by helicopter.

"I’ve been to Halifax before. It’s a beautiful city, but I wouldn’t go out there (to the island) in a small boat," he said.

Mr. Mont says he’s always known it would take a special person to inhabit the island, which he owns in its entirety except for a piece around the unmanned lighthouse maintained by the Canadian Coast Guard.

"I (have to) get them away from this idea they have to get off every day to go to work or go shopping. I need somebody who’s going to somehow be self-sustaining. Somebody that can carry their own weight and they’re handy, maybe. That type of thing."

But he’s since decided probably it’s best for safety’s sake if it didn’t go to a lone person.

"I don’t really like one person, anyway," he said. "If something happens, it’s not easy."

(kshiers@herald.ca)