Spend an additional $5 million on restoration work or lock the doors and wait for a potential user with plenty of cash to step forward. Those are the options being presented by city staff regarding the historic, city-owned drill hall building on the edge of downtown.
City officials issued a market sounding study this past summer seeking suggestions from developers and the community regarding potential future uses for the pre-confederation, Farquhar Street structure. Study findings are part of a staff report heading to council’s committee of the whole on Oct. 4.
“Based on the findings from the market sounding study, the drill hall is ideally suited towards a community use,” states the staff report, adding, “there are no user groups that could utilize the drill hall space and be financially viable without support from the city.”
In terms of developer interest, the condition of the building, combined with heritage protections, make it an unmarketable property.
As a result, city staff is recommending council either allocate $5 million in a future capital budget for restoration work needed to make the space usable or secure the building for an “indefinite period of time” in the hopes a user group comes forward with a proposal that wouldn’t require financial support from the city and complies with the downtown secondary plan.
Either way, current stabilization efforts are set to continue into next year, with a price tag of about $4.5 million.
The city acquired the two-and-a-half-storey, 2,260 sq. m. drill hall as part of a 2017 land swap deal with Metrolinx intended to help bring about extended GO train service. At that time, a $2 million budget was approved for stabilization work.
However, given the current condition of the building, those efforts are now expected to cost about $4.5 million, not including the aforementioned restoration work. As a result, the city transferred an additional $2.5 million from other approved projects in August.
Built in 1866, a year ahead of Confederation, the yellow-sided building on the northeast corner of Wyndham and Farquhar streets was initially used as a training facility for Guelph’s voluntary militia, as well as to hold local agricultural shows. Through the years it has also operated as a general community hall and was occupied by a variety of industrial uses.
The designated heritage building has sat vacant since 2006 and is closed to public access.
