The St. Clair Catholic District School Board and the Municipality of Chatham-Kent have jointly announced the sale and purchase of the former St. Joseph Catholic School in Chatham. The sale and the purchase were approved, respectively, by the Board of Trustees and the Municipal Council at their public meetings on Monday evening.

The agreed upon sale price is $400,000, which 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 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,” said 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.