by Anne Finlay-Stewart
If you read our Facebook post last week and guessed "the city is selling the old Courthouse to Southbridge Care Homes", you would already be a winner.
Mayor Ian Boddy announced the conditional sale as an "ideal repurposing" of a heritage building that the city "had not maintained as it might have" over the years, and an opportunity to rejuvenate a "neat neighbourhood". He spoke of the well-paying health care jobs that would be created in the
long-term, and the design, engineering and construction jobs on the estimated $10 million-plus renovation and building project.
Southbridge's President, Keith McIntosh, said the plan is to create their first "community care hub" model on the site, with administrative offices in the court building, maintaining the facade and roofline, and a long-term care home with "related services" in an addition to the rear. Approval of various permits from the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care are expected by the spring of 2016. The jail and wall will be demolished, and any heritage elements that can be preserved will be offered to museums.
Southbridge, operating formerly as Versa Care, has been in Owen Sound for 46 years. Summit Place was its first model of extended care, and the new site will amalgamate Maple View (formerly the Lutheran Nursing Home on 10th St. West) and Georgian Heights (in the 1100 block of 10th St. East). McIntosh said Southbridge is not anticipating divesting itself of those properties, but no plans for them were made public.
The Courthouse property was described as the "preferred location" for an expansion of the Tom Thomson Art Gallery in a public meeting April 16. Linda Myles-Gallinger, chair of the Gallery's board, said of today's announcement today that she was of the "one door closes, another opens" school. The board will take a "deeper look" again at expansion at the current location on 1st Ave West, agreed Virginia Eichhorn, Director of the TTAG, as the art collection must be brought out of basement storage due to insurance liability. The staff and board are full committed to their plan of creating an extended stay experience at the Gallery and providing more space for both exhibits and programming , whether on 1st Avenue West or another location within the city. In his few minutes at the podium, Mayor Boddy expressed the city's support for the Gallery as "they look for their own property".
The Courthouse building has seen a variety of arts endeavours since it ended its work in Grey County's justice system. The Grey Bruce Arts Council made its home there, as did the Georgian Bay Folk Society, and most recently it has seen small studios for visual and musical artists.
The building, jail and grounds were listed together for sale at $249,000. The conditional sale closes July 30, and Mayor Ian Boddy says "the details will be made public at some time in the future". The Owen Sound and District Chamber of Commerce has already expressed its approval of the sale to Southbridge, while chair Debbie McKague says the Chamber looks forward to "working with the Tom Thomson Art Gallery in exploring other options and helping to see their vision become a reality."
