As city officials develop plans for a Heritage Conservation District (HCD) study for the former Guelph reformatory lands, the public is being asked for input and stories about their relationship with the property.
A virtual public open house is scheduled for June 8 between 6:30 and 8 p.m.
City officials are looking to “understand the unique character of the area, and to inform the proposed HCD boundary,” states a post on the city’s website.
The former Guelph reformatory property consist of about 222 acres of land that include a set of buildings constructed in the 1910s and 1920s for detention and rehabilitation purposes.
Though the province owns much of the original reformatory property, it no longer owns all of it. Through the years parcels have been sold off, with pieces now owned by the City of Guelph, along with Cargill Meat Solutions.
The reformatory was fully decommissioned in 2001 and the property has been vacant since 2014, when the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services completely left the site. With no identified uses for it, the provincial government has declared the property to be surplus.
Study of the property’s heritage is a precursor to sale and potential redevelopment.
To participate in the virtual public open house, visit haveyoursay.guelph.ca/reformatory-district.
