Members of Quinte West council. (Photo: Quinte News).
An old school building in Quinte West is being purchased by the city with the hope of using it to address some of the housing needs in the community.
On Monday, city council approved a $400,000 purchase of the College Street Public School land, which includes the school building and encompasses about 4.16 acres of land.
Mayor Jim Harrison says the city will be working with Hastings County to see what can be done with the building housing wise.
Harrison says there’s no definite timeline on when that project may be completed, but housing continues to be a big issue in the community and they are working with the county to address the problem.
The closing date for the sale is February 28th, once the school board approves the purchase at its meeting later this month.
Meanwhile, Mayor Jim Harrison says says there’s no rush to evict the families living in a home that the city bought late last year.
The city bought the property at 315 Front Street, with the plan to demolish the building and extend the waterfront trail, which caused some uproar from tenants who claimed they didn’t even know the duplex was up for sale.
Harrison says city staff have spoken to the residents and assured them they won’t have to move for at least another few months.
If the decision is made to extend the lease past the summer, Harrison says any further decision on the property would have to be made by the next council, following the October election.
