The Municipality of Chatham-Kent has purchased and subsequently sold the former St. Joseph Catholic school from the St. Clair Catholic District School Board.
The school board and municipality jointly announced the $400,000 sale and purchase of the former Chatham school.
According to reports, the local Apollo Property Management has then purchased the school from the municipality for the same $400,000 total.
In a report to council, it was detailed that C-K administration negotiated the deal with Apollo, agreeing to sell the property immediately after purchasing the property from the School Board. This two-stage transaction is necessary, as the process for the sale of surplus school properties requires the Board to sell the school to a public agency.
The sale and the purchase were approved by the Board of Trustees and the Municipal Council at Monday night’s virtual meeting.
The school board says the agreed upon sale price is within the range of fair market value as assessed by the Board’s real estate agent and appraiser.
“I want to thank our Associate Director Amy Janssens and her staff for successfully concluding this purchase agreement with the Municipality,” says John Van Heck, Chair of the Board. “We have an excellent relationship with our municipal partners and are pleased whenever surplus Board property can be re-purposed to fill a new role in the community.”
The century-old building is expected to be utilized as housing.
In this week’s report to council, Administration said they believe housing would be “a positive re-use of the property and is consistent with the neighbourhood.”
“The creation of housing continues to be important in Chatham-Kent and I’m glad to see an existing building find a new use that will serve our community well for generations,” says Mayor Darrin Canniff.
Under Ontario Regulation 444/98, the Board is required to offer any property which has been declared surplus to a list of preferred agents, including municipalities, before it can be placed on the open market. The St. Joseph Catholic School property was declared surplus to the Board’s needs on September 24, 2019. The property was offered to preferred agents on November 13, 2019 and on February 11, 2020, the Board received an expression of interest from the Municipality.
The closing date for the sale and purchase agreement is July 31, 2020.
