Town of Essex buys former Harrow High School
"I’ve been doing a happy dance now for the last couple days,” says Town of Essex councilor, Sherry Bondy.
After sitting vacant for five years, the former Harrow high school may once again play a role in the community.
"The town of Essex council in our community, we are the proud owners of the Harrow high school building and all the beautiful green space that surrounds it," says Bondy.
The town of Essex has purchased the property from the Greater Essex County District School Board.
"Now we have a chance. We have a once in a lifetime chance for the community of Harrow, Colchester, the municipality of Essex and I know service groups are going to pitch in. It’s going to take a lot of elbow grease, but together we’ve come this far and together we can go farther," says Bondy.
There are no approved project plans at this time, but councilor Sherry Bondy is hopeful her six-point plan will transform the former school into a community hub.
"We need more recreational space, more potential office space and more space we can lease out to service groups and private enterprises," says Bondy.
"We have a huge interest in possibly renting, leasing space within this building if that can come to fruition," says Karen Dasilva, registered early childcare educator, Harrow Daycare.
Harrow Daycare says they are running out of space, but given the building’s close proximity, it’s a perfect fit for their latchkey before and after school program.
"We are full. We are at capacity. We have a waitlist in our program of a year. That’s never happened before. We’ve had waitlist before but turning down people that call and looking for care actually breaks our heart," says Dasilva.
Bondy says the building will need some work. The town has set aside sixty thousand dollars in its budget to hire a consultant to study the building's condition.
"Hopefully council passes that and we can look at the structure and the to-do list for the building. I believe the bricks and mortar are really solid. There have been few leaks in the roof and the gym floor needs some repairs. Having said that, there have been a lot of interest in the community and a lot of it that can make us money," says Bondy.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
2 teens charged in Halifax homicide: police
Two teenagers have been charged with second-degree murder in connection to an alleged homicide near the Halifax Shopping Centre earlier this week.
'Deep ignorance': Calls for Manitoba trustee to resign sparked after comments about Indigenous people and reconciliation
A rural Manitoba school trustee is facing calls to resign over comments he made about Indigenous people and residential schools earlier this week.
12-year-old hippo in Japan raised as a male discovered to be a female
When Gen-chan arrived at a zoo in Japan in 2017, no one questioned whether the then-five-year-old hippopotamus was a boy. Seven years later, zoo staff made a surprising discovery: Gen-chan, now 12, was female.
Here's why Harvey Weinstein's New York rape conviction was tossed and what happens next
Here's what you need to know about why movie mogul Harvey Weinstein's rape conviction was thrown out and what happens next.
Legendary hockey broadcaster Bob Cole dies at 90: CBC
Bob Cole, a welcome voice for Canadian hockey fans for a half-century, has died at the age of 90. Cole died Wednesday night in St. John's, N.L., surrounded by his family, his daughter, Megan Cole, told the CBC.
Humanist group threatening to sue Vancouver over council prayers
The B.C. Humanist Association has threatened legal action against the City of Vancouver for allowing prayers at council, following a similar warning issued earlier this month to a smaller community on Vancouver Island.
LHSC performs a Canadian first in robot-assisted direct lateral spine surgery
Spine surgery may never be the same for people with chronic back pain and other physical ailments.