Owen Sound is putting out a request for proposals for its historic 1854 courthouse and jail property.
This will be the third time the City will look to entice a buyer for the old property on 3rd Avenue East, but instead of putting it up for sale, it will look for a proponent who is interested in the ‘adaptive reuse’ of the property’s heritage features to bid on the property.
The Courthouse is designated under the Ontario Heritage Act and the Jail property is on the City’s Heritage Register.
The City will then score bids based on proponents’ past projects, their proposal for use of the buildings and whether or not it suits the City’s vision for the property.
Owen Sound purchased the courthouse from Grey County in 1960 and the jail in 2013. The properties have sat vacant since 2014. They nearly sold twice, first to Southbridge Care Homes, and then to the Tom Thomson Art Gallery, but both had very specific requirements of the building and ended up backing out.
Community engagement sessions have been held to discuss the what might be done with the properties, including partial demolition. A consultant’s report by Taylor Hazell Architects laid out a number of options for demolition of some of the 1854 jail properties.
Demolition of the Courthouse is not currently being considered and repairs to its roof along with boarding up windows are slated to take place this fall for roughly $120,000
The request for proposals closes June 11th.
