The Board of Trustees approved the sale of the former St. Agnes Catholic School at a Special Meeting on Monday, June 14, 2021.  An agreement of purchase and sale between the Board and Indwell Community Homes of Hamilton, ON includes an agreed-upon selling price of $635,000.

“We are pleased that the sale of this surplus property is moving forward,” says John Van Heck, Chair of the Board.  “My congratulations to Amy Janssens and her team.  We look forward to moving additional surplus properties off our books in the weeks and months ahead.”

The sale of Board-owned surplus properties is governed by Ontario Regulation 444/98, which directs that all properties must first be offered to a list of preferred agents, including municipalities, universities and colleges, school boards and other public sector agencies. 

The list of preferred agents was presented to the Board of Trustees on November 13, 2019. 

Having received no expressions of interest from public sector agencies, the Board issued an RFO (Request For Offers) on May 13, 2021.  Ten offers were received and the sealed submissions were opened during an online TEAMS meeting with the Board’s solicitor Ed Litrenta of George, Murray, Shipley, Bell LLP.

Two other remaining surplus properties will also be sold on the open market.  Offering dates are yet to be determined for the now vacant former St. Vincent Catholic School, at 9399 McNaughton Line, Chatham; and Monsignor Uyen Catholic School, located at 255 Lark Street, Chatham, which will close at the end of June 2021.

All three properties are surplus as the result of construction of the new St. Angela Merici Catholic School on McNaughton Avenue, W. in Chatham, which opened to students and staff in September 2020.  Staff and students at the current Monsignor Uyen site on Lark Street will relocate to the newly refurbished former Our Lady of Fatima property on Baldoon Road, Chatham in September 2021.