The City of Stratford is gearing up to sell the former Stratford Normal School, but not before it holds a public meeting on the matter.
At the Nov. 12 Stratford city council meeting, council voted to initiate the process of disposing of 270 Water St., otherwise known as the Discovery Centre or Stratford Normal School, starting with a public meeting to hear from the public with respect to the building.
The Discovery Centre was purchased by the City of Stratford from the Province of Ontario and the city has owned the building since 2001. It has not been used for city operations, however, and has been leased by the Stratford Festival since 2009.
That lease expires in April of next year. Since there is no need for the building for municipal purposes, staff requested direction on declaring the property surplus and disposing of it, excluding the eastern balance of the property, which could be retained by the city for parkland.
Municipalities can dispose of their properties, in accordance with the Municipal Act, for a number of reasons such as if private ownership may better serve the interests of residents or if capital acquired can be repurposed into new or improved assets.
After the public meeting, a report on the feedback gleaned and potential options will be presented to council. No date for the meeting has been set as of yet.
The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the federal government.
