From a staff report to Owen Sound City Council March 14, 2022:

"The historic courthouse and jail properties are City-owned and are subject to disposition and adaptive reuse.

The property was listed with the City realtor, Chestnut Park, for $249,000 and offers were accepted to October 4, 2021. Four offers were received.

In closed session, Council reviewed legal input on the four offers. Three of the proponents were selected to make a closed presentation to Council with their vision for the site’s future redevelopment.

Council had directed that we move forward to work with Nick Ainis in Trust with a signed Agreement of Purchase and Sale (APS) for $50,000. There is a due diligence period, and the sale is anticipated to close in the spring of 2022.

Based on information from the purchaser, they intend to convert the courthouse, jailhouse, and governor’s residence into an exciting venue, dining, and entertainment complex, including an interactive museum and shared workspace. The development will be subject to the City’s standard development process, with timelines to ensure that the site is redeveloped in a timely manner.

The subject lands comprise two lots, 1235 3rd Ave E containing the courthouse and 1259 including the jail buildings, jail walls, and the two-story redbrick Governor’s Residence.

Together, the lands are sized approximately 0.53 ha and have frontage on 3rd Avenue East and 4th Avenue East.

The City purchased the former County Courthouse in 1960 and acquired the former Jail facility in 2013 from the County of Grey. The courthouse is designated under the Ontario Heritage Act, and the jail property is listed on the City’s Heritage Register. The buildings became vacant in 2014, and the City declared the buildings and property surplus and had the lands listed for sale. Through the process of trying to sell the lands, the County Jail buildings and structures were identified as being potential barriers to the redevelopment of the lands.

In 2018, Taylor Hazell Architects were retained to complete the Cultural Heritage Evaluation Report (CHER) and Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA).

Offers were evaluated on the following criteria:

 Adherence to heritage designation and ability to retain designated heritage features – understand heritage constraints;
 Site plan and concept;
 Scope of required planning approvals;
 Financial capacity to complete the project;
 Business case (quality of presented concept);
 Timelines for works;
 Benefit to the community (community impact);
 Examples of past or similar projects.

source: City of Owen Sound